The Black Latios
by Mekon
Summary: After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. However, it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero that could decide the fate of the world. - Image provided by Rubius! You can find a link to him on my profile page.
1. Prologue: Altomare Again

**The Black Latios**

**DISCLAIMER**

As always, Nothing of Pokemon belongs to me! Although I do have a few video games, a couple of tapes and a plushy.

**A/N**

**Been feeling nostalgic so I decided to write a pokemon story to bring me back to my childhood days. This story is inspired by one of my favorite Pokemon movies and my childhood memories of it.**

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare and visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero that could decide the fate of the world! Altoshipping!

**A/N**

**Imagine there's no Tobias, I don't want him having a Latios. Or a Darkrai for that matter. It's cheap! And I couldn't stand it when I saw it with my younger cousins. **

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

A/N

This story is inspired by

ARCEUS-master's magnificent story:

A New Chance at Life

I have received permission from the author to adapt some of his elements into my story, and ARCEUS-master is currently assisting me in some areas of my story. I extend my thanks!

* * *

Ash Ketchum, a fifteen year old rising Pokemon master, along with his friends, Brock and Dawn, head back to his home town of Pallet to take a well deserved rest. Ash had lost in the Sinnoh league only a few days earlier, and he was still quite upset with his latest defeat. He stared out blankly into the seemingly endless sea, just trying to stop himself about thinking about it.

They had come a very long way from Sinnoh, stopping at various scenic and photo-worthy spots along the way. Unlike the usual traveling they did, this one was saturated in luxury due to the fact that it was a cruise ship, not a passenger-liner that acted as their transport. Since the tickets were also on sale, they acted as an excuse for Ash to get his mind straight.

"Sigh...It's always like this. I get so close to just tasting the championship, only to fail," Ash said quietly to himself as he leaned on the polished wood railing of the boat. His buddy pikachu was residing on his shoulder, looking at his best friend with understanding. He understood just how disappointed Ash really was.

"Pika pi pika chu Pika (but we got top four this time!)" Pikachu said, trying to cheer up his trainer. "Pi pika pikapi Pi pika pikachu (cheer up Ash, we'll get em next year!)" Ash smiled as he rubbed his best friend's head in thanks. It was a good thing Pikachu always kept his head up and looked forward; it allowed Ash to do the same, but after doing it so many times in this situation, it got increasingly difficult to accomplish.

"Hey Ash!" a voice said from his right. Ash turned to his right to find Brock, his oldest traveling partner, greeting him.

"Hey Brock," Ash responded dejectedly. Brock remained quiet for a second as he leaned on the railings next to his friend. He let the sounds of the crashing waves pacify his presence for a second before making his move.

"Still upset huh?" He asked quietly. Ash just nodded a bit as he stared glumly out into the ocean. "Don't let it get you down, after all, you've accomplished so much already." Ash let out another sigh.

"But still... after all that effort and work and time...I feel like I failed them," Ash answered, just letting out his thoughts. Pikachu immediately and vehemently denied that, saying that Ash would never fail his pokemon.

"You should listen to Pikachu Ash. Do you think after what you did to help and train your pokemon, it would result in them looking down on you just because you didn't get the championship?" Brock asked incredulously, a sharp stare adorned on his face directed towards the young trainer.

"What have I done Brock?" Ash asked quietly, still depressed and upset, "I'm not the one taking Flamethrower attacks, Shadow Punches, Hyper Beams, or Body Slams..." He didn't want to voice it, but he felt like he was just a figurehead; a puppet whose strings were cut and limp, unable to assist his dearest friends when he needed to. Pikachu looked at him with sad eyes. He hated the fact that Ash believed he had done nothing to better his pokemon or even help them in anyway. He resisted the urge to Thundershock him at that moment, quite sure that it would make it worse.

"Do I have to really tell you Ash?" a feminine voice asked from his left. Dawn had walked in on the last statement that Ash had uttered and instantly got the gist of what he was going on about, despite her usual clueless nature. "Let's see here. Let's start with the most obvious cases. Chimchar, Gligar, Starly, Gibble." Ash grunted in semi-agreement, but jumped when his belt suddenly exploded in a burst of light.

His pokemon had been listening in to what Ash was going on about. Infernape, Buizel, Gliscor, Torterra, and Staraptor were looking at Ash, not with disappointment, but with pride and admiration. Pikachu quickly jumped down into the group to join them. They all had something to say, and they knew they could get to Ash, despite his tendency to have a thick head.

"You took in Chimchar when Paul abandoned him and abused him just for his power," Brock supplied. Ash began muttering about how 'any decent person would have done it', "Maybe. But only someone as dedicated as you would jump into a Blaze-crazy pokemon's rampage. That could have incinerated you on the spot by the way. Now look where he is." Infernape looked at Ash with gratitude and agreed with the smart breeder, giving a small punch to Ash's shoulder in confirmation.

"You did the same with Staraptor," Dawn added in, remembering the young stages of the bird in front of her. Staraptor cawed with agreement as it made a one-winged salute to the trainer in front of him. Ash was finding it hard to stay in his melancholy state now. "Teaching him Aerial Ace was due to your efforts and encouragement. You never give up on your friends."

"Buizel you helped learn Ice Punch, training with him the entire time. You taught him how to work in a team too, and how to be strong," Brock answered back, feeding off of Dawn's input, "Gliscor you helped get over his fears, despite it even hurting yourself in the process." Both respective pokemon gestured that they truly appreciated all Ash had done for them through thick and thin.

"Gibble-" Dawn said, as Piplup began to look around frantically with fear of falling meteors. He was not there at the moment, and the little blue pokemon calmed."-and Draco Meteor. Torterra and Energy Ball. Pikachu..well that's self explanatory." They were all examples of how everything, really everything, Ash ever did was for his own pokemon and friends. Ash looked around him, surrounded by supportive and loving friends, and nodded, small tears collecting in his eyes.

"Thanks guys," Ash answered with resolve. He needed to cheer up and look forward to his next adventure. Plus, it was breakfast, and if there was one thing Ash wouldn't do, it was being upset at the cruise's breakfast buffet.

* * *

"_Sigh, it's so lonely,_" a girl with a green shirt, and white shorts thought to herself as she stared out to never ending sea. She found herself doing it often now, just remembering. Suddenly, a girl who looked exactly like her walked up to her. The only difference between the two was the fact that the second girl happened to be wearing a white beret.

"Latias. Are you still starring out there?" Bianca asked as she sat down next to her friend, a yellow sketchpad in her hands.

'I miss him,' Latias telepathically said as she looked out forlornly out into restless waters that surrounded her home.

"Miss who hmm? Latios or Ash?" Bianca questioned with a sly smile as she nudged her friend. Latias blushed a dark shade of red upon the mentioning of her secret crush. But she knew that in her heart, it would never work out between them, and that's what saddened her the most. Unbidden tears began to flow down her face as she remembered those that she loved that were gone. Bianca, feeling sad for her best friend, frowned and hugged her, trying to soothe the ache that Latias felt.

"Shhh, it's okay to miss those who are gone," Bianca assured; she too missed them, Latios more than Ash however. "Let's head back to the garden. I don't want people to see two of me." She said the last part with a chuckle as she stood up. Latias wiped her tears away as she too stood up and resumed her pokemon form, turning invisible right after.

'Thanks Bianca,' she thought to her, and Bianca smiled back. Suddenly, Bianca took off.

"Race ya!" she yelled as she ran towards the garden. Latias smiled before taking off after her friend, not catching sight of the approaching ship on the horizon.

* * *

"Excuse me laddies and gentlemen and pokemon. We will be making a three day stop in Altomare to refuel and resupply. Please enjoy your stay here and be back to board the next trip to Vermillion City," a voice over the intercom said.

"Awesome! We're back in Altomare!" Ash said as he stepped off of the boat. He remembered everything that happened there: The DMA, Latias, Latios, those two Team Rocket spies, the giant wave, Lorenzo, Bianca and others.

"Wow! Altomare! It's so beautiful!" Dawn said as she spun around to take a look. He partner Piplup looked around too, happy to be surrounded by water.

"AND SO MANY BEAUTIFUL LADIES!" Brock yelled as he rushed to the town square. He spotted one extremely cute blond and immediately went up to her.

"Oh my dear sweet jewel of Altomare! It must be fate that brought us together over these many miles! I'm sure you feel the connection between us!" He said as he held her hand and stood on on one knee. Then a light flashed as Croagunk came out of his pokeball and poison-jabbed his side. "I...sure...can't...feel...the...connection...to...my...legs..." Brock said as he went down; Croagunk dragging him away from the unfortunate lady. Ash and Dawn sweatdropped as they watched, shaking their heads hopelessly.

"Lets go check up on Latias, Bianca and Lorenzo!" Ash said as he sprinted off to find his friends with Pikachu in tow. Brock had finally recovered as he stood up and returned Croagunk, muttering about 'how fate seemed to separate him from every beautiful girl in the world.'

"Hold up Ash!" Dawn said as she tried to keep up. "You're gonna get lost again!" But it was too late, Ash was nowhere to be seen, disappearing among the ever moving crowd.

"Don't worry about him, I'm sure he will be fine. He has been here before anyway," Brock said as he caught up to Dawn.

"He's been here before?" Dawn asked with wonder. Brock nodded as he decided to fill her in on the story of Ash, Latias, Latios and Altomare.

* * *

Ash ran left and right, around corners and under arches trying to navigate his way through the city. After a while, he decided that he was truly lost.

"Man! You would think that being here a second time, I would know the place by now," Ash said as he looked around, not recognizing any landmarks.

"Pi pika pi pi pikachu. (You could get lost in a single roomed house.)" Pikachu said with a snicker.

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Ash said in indignation, "Alright, maybe I am but so what!" Pikachu rolled his eyes as he hopped off of Ash's shoulder's. He felt thirsty and decided to go and find that water pump he was so fond of. It wasn't that hard for the electric mouse pokemon as he lead Ash to the familiar contraption.

"You thirsty buddy?" Ash asked and Pikachu responded with a 'chaa'. Ash smiled as he turned on the pump, his memories of the place filling his head. He remembered how he had first seen Latias in her human disguise here.

* * *

Meanwhile up in the sky, Latias, invisible at the time, was making her usual rounds checking up on the city. Nothing seemed to be out-of-place today.

Then she heard a voice.

"You thirsty buddy?" a very familiar voice asked. She turned and her breath caught in her throat. There he was, Ash her hero, and her secret love. Latias stared at him. He wore very different clothing, was definitely taller, and looked a bit more mature than last time. Her heart swelled, and she couldn't help it as she barreled towards him in extreme happiness.

Ash felt himself being lifted off the ground for a second and then on the ground as he felt soft feathers being rubbed against his cheek. Then the unknown force revealed itself.

"Latias! Hey," Ash said as he hugged the pokemon. Latias blushed a pretty shade of pink as she cooed in delight.

"Pika Pikachu (Hey! It's good to see you again!)" Pikachu said as he walked up to the eon dragon.

'Hi Pikachu' Latias psychically said.

"It's good to see you again Latias," Ash said as he stood up and dusted himself off. Latias took her time to admire the human. He had definitely become more toned and muscular than last time, but his smile and eyes were as beautiful as ever. Latias blushed again as she thought of these things.

"It's been so long huh? How are you?" Ash asked as he adjusted his hat.

'Fine, nothing too big has popped up in Altomare since you left,' she responded. Ash was surprised to here Latias' voice inside of his head, but she explained that she had learned to use telepathy in his long absence.

"How's Bianca and Lorenzo holding up?" Ash continued as he talked to the eon dragon.

'Ask them yourself,' Latias psychically responded as she smiled and picked up the young trainer. She had grown stronger over the years, being the only one left to guard Altomare, so picking up Ash wasn't much of a challenge anymore. (1)

"Ack! Latias!" Ash said as he noticed that he was quickly leaving the ground. Pikachu had caught a ride too on Latias' back, and they were off. If a person had looked up, they would have seen a floating kid hung under a Pikachu which appeared to be surfing on the air.

They landed softly in the secret garden. Not much had changed. The swing, the fountain, and the peace was still there. Latias flew around in circles happily as she cooed in delight after revealing herself.

Four voices greeted him.

"Well well well, it's about time," Bianca said as she came up to Ash. Behind her was Lorenzo, Brock and Dawn. "We've been waiting awhile."

"Yeah well um...I kinda got lost," Ash said mareepishly as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I told you to wait Ash," Dawn said as she rolled her eyes, but a smile adorned her face.

"You just couldn't wait to see Latias now could you Ash?" Brock said as he nudge the young trainer. Ash blushed at the insinuation.

"No! I just got lost, and Latias found me is all!" Ash retorted. Latias cooed and nuzzled his face affectionately. Ash blushed again, and everyone laughed at the young boy's embarrassment.

* * *

They had a small picnic in the cool of the day, under the trees of the secret garden. Right in front of them about a hundred yards away, was the fountain that held the new Soul Dew. Brock had decided to cook up some food for everyone, and it was delicious as usual. Ash ravenously ate, and his other pokemon were eating as well. They were chowing down on Brock's pokefood with a vigor that matched Ash's almost. After all, Brock's pokefood was considered a delicacy among those who ate his food. They met the legendary eon dragon with respect and played a bit with her after they were done eating.

"So what brings you back to Altomare Ash?" Lorenzo asked the young trainer. He told them that the boat was refueling for a couple of days before heading back to the Kanto region. They nodded in understanding, not having any more important questions. Once again, Ash was pulled up in the air by Latias who wanted to play with Ash. Ash complied with the active legendary as Latias chased him around the garden.

"I haven't seen her this happy in a long time," Lorenzo said as he watched to two.

"Yeah, ever since...Latios passed on..." Bianca said as she eyed her friend with sympathy, "she's been sad. It's great that she's actually happy again." Lorenzo nodded as he watched the duo.

Finally, Ash tired out and sat down on the edge of the fountain. Latias giggled as she flew around in circles again to display her delight. He smiled and turned to see the Soul Dew in front of him. Latias noticed the object that Ash had spotted and flew down over to him.

"You miss him don't you?" Ash asked quietly as he stared at the purple-blue orb that held the soul of Latios. Latias said yes as she looked down on the orb that had a part of her brother in it.

Ash didn't know why, but he felt like it was calling to him. It felt like it wanted him to pick it up. So he did. He reached into the cool fountain waters and placed both of his hands around the Soul Dew. Then suddenly, the scenery melted around him, fading into a dark blue. He looked up and saw the face of...Latios.

* * *

(1) Let's just say that those other Latias and Latios that arrived at the end of the movie didn't exist.

Well there's the first part! This is my first pokemon fanfic, so tell me how I did.

Thanks for reading! And Please review!


	2. Ch1: The Black Latios

**DISCLAIMER**

Can't say that I own anything of the idea: Pokemon.

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare and visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero that could decide the fate of the world. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

_"I haven't seen her this happy in a long time," Lorenzo said as he watched to two._

_"Yeah, ever since...Latios passed on..." Bianca said as she eyed her friend with sympathy, "she's been sad. It's great that she's actually happy again." Lorenzo nodded as he watched the duo._

_Finally, Ash tired out and sat down on the edge of the fountain. Latias giggled as she flew around in circles again to display her delight. He smiled and turned to see the Soul Dew in front of him. Latias noticed the object that Ash had spotted and flew down over to him._

_"You miss him don't you?" Ash asked quietly as he stared at the purple-blue orb that held the soul of Latios. Latias said yes as she looked down on the orb that had a part of her brother in it._

_Ash didn't know why, but he felt like it was calling to him. It felt like it wanted him to pick it up. So he did. He reached into the cool fountain waters and placed both of his hands around the Soul Dew. Then suddenly, the scenery melted around him, fading into a dark blue. He looked up and saw the face of...Latios._

* * *

Ch1: The Black Latios

Latios looked down at Ash with a small smile.

"Why... hello again Ash," Latios said as he lowered himself to Ash's level. Latios took notice of the changes that the young boy had gone through. Ash's face seemed to emanate a sense of rising maturity, and his body showed the same. But as Latias noticed, his eyes still held the boyish and excited attitude that he had first brought to them.

"Woah! Latios! I thought you were gone!" Ash exclaimed as he rushed forward to hug the old friend, lost to the evils of the world.

"Partially yes," Latios said with a chuckle, as he looked at the orb in Ash's hand.

"How am I seeing you right now?" Ash asked as he cocked his head in puzzlement. It was strange. He could have sworn that he was in the garden next to Latias just a second ago, making a grab for the Soul Dew.

"We are inside of the Soul Dew," Latios responded calmly as he looked around him.

"So is that why I can understand you without telepathy?" Ash asked curiously. Latios nodded and continued on.

"So do you know why I called you?" Latios asked as his piercing gaze met Ash's confused eyes.

"Uhhh... No idea really," Ash said nervously. Latios nodded as he levitated next to Ash.

"I want you to free my soul," Latios said simply.

"Wha..What do you mean!" Ash said as he was faced with this enormous task. How could he, of all people, free Latios' soul?

"My soul is bound to this world as long as the Soul Dew exists. I cannot move on to the next world and be at peace," Latios said in a tired voice as he gestured to the jewel in Ash's hands. He had been here for only three years now, but he already felt tired. Latios really wondered how his father had managed to stay in the Soul Dew for so long a time.

"What can I do then?" Ash asked, wanting to do what he could to help Latios.

"It's quite simple really. All you must do is surround the Soul Dew with your Aura," Latios stated simply as he floated to face the young trainer.

"But I haven't been trained to use my Aura!" Ash quickly said with disbelief. He had no idea how to do this. What if he accidentally hurt Latios? He would never forgive himself if something like that happened.

"I believe in you Ash. You are Arceus' chosen one. The one destined to help any and all legendary pokemon," Latios assured with confidence, "But I must tell you, if you do this there will be some...side-effects." Ash looked at him with questioning eyes, but steeled himself, deciding to just do it.

"If I can help you, I'll try my best," Ash said with determination as he called upon the dormant powers he possessed. It was tough. He called with all his might upon his powerful Aura and could see it slowly pooling around the jewel he held in his hands. The ball was outlined in Ash's teal aura as it slowly began absorbing the power. It took tremendous effort on Ash's part, and his eyes threatened to drop many times. He wouldn't allow himself to fail however; Latios was counting on him! Ash shook himself and continued pouring power into the jewel that anchored Latios to this world.

Suddenly, the jewel exploded in a flash of sparkles, and Ash panicked, worried that he had messed up. Latios, however, smiled and hovered closer.

"Thank you very much Ash," Latios said as he was finally was free. The remnants of the Soul Dew began to glow as they returned to rebuild the jewel. The jewel returned to Ash's hands, but instead of being purple-blue, it was now a combination of purple-blue and teal, the color of Ash's aura mixed with the color of the pre-aura-saturated jewel. The jewel began to glow once more, and Ash's couldn't react as the jewel went inside of him and disappeared.

Ash's vision began to darken, and his senses began to waver. Before he lost conscience, he heard Latios speak once more.

"Thank you again Ash, I am now free. Use this gift to assure peace for the world and make my sister happy," Latios said as he faded into existence, finally able to move on. Once again Ash saw darkness.

* * *

Latias shook Ash's fiercely. She was so worried. One second Ash was fine, and the next he was out cold, face down on the floor with the Soul Dew in his hands. Latias cried as she nuzzled Ash, begging him to awake. A light suddenly began to glow from Ash's body, and Latias flew back in surprise, hiding behind a nearby tree.

Ash's body began to shift and elongate as he was covered in light. Something was happening to him, and Latias was worried about what it could be. Finally, the light subsided and there lay a Latios, but instead of the normal blue color, a dark sleek black covered the blue regions. It reminded her of Ash's hair, and Latias looked on with a stunned expression. Here in front of her was the most exotic Latios she had ever seen. He was well built, and his coloring gave him a look of power and grace. She couldn't help but stare. But where was Ash and where did the Soul Dew go?

Suddenly,Ash stirred, finally opening his eyes.

_'Man what a weird dream', _he thought to himself. He noticed that he was lying down on the grass right in front of the fountain. He craned his neck, to find it felt unusually long, and rubbed his head with his claws in puzzlement.

'_WAIT! CLAWS!' _Ash thought to himself as his eyes became comically huge. He scrambled around frantically as he looked at himself. He tried to scream, but all that came out was a loud "Tios!" He then noticed that he was levitating off the ground and started freaking out even more.

"WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO ME!" Ash shouted in poke-speech as he spun around trying to see if it was all a bizarre dream. From behind the tree Latias recognized that voice easily.

"Ash?" Latias asked timidly as she approached the gorgeous Latios in front of her from behind the tree. If she had been attracted to Ash before, it had certainly at least multiplied by ten by now. She quivered as she raked her eyes over Ash's new form. Dark raven feathers covered the usual blue, causing him to have a unique coloration, unlike any other Latios. The triangle that adorned his chest was not normal either. It was still red, but inside of the triangle was a small circle at the top point. It's coloration resembled a blue-green color, and it accented his new form.

"Oh hey Latias," he said, "What happened to me?" He looked at the reflection in the fountain. He felt so strange at the moment. The extension of his body, the power he could feel inside of him, the fact that he was floating all fascinated him, but it scared him a bit too. The other thing that worried him was how everyone else would react, where his pokeballs were, and where were his clothes.

"Well..." Latias said as she was hesitant to tell Ash what had happened. She was unsure of what had truly happened herself. "We were playing near the fountain, and you picked up the Soul Dew when you sat down. The next thing I know is that you passed out and after a while, you became covered in light. Then you transformed into this." Latias gestured to his new form with her claws as she finished her short telling of the strange event. Ash made the connection.

Ash then in turned told her what had happened when he had been unconscious. Latias began to cry as she finally knew that her brother had achieved peace. Ash moved to hold her, allowing her to cry into his chest. That was why the Soul Dew had disappeared, but strangely enough, the waters of Altomare flowed strong, if not stronger than before.

"Hey, it's going to be okay," Ash reassured with the same smile he held when he was human. His eyes held so much care, and Latias blushed as she noticed where she was. She timidly backed away, her face heating up quickly.

Ash, oblivious to Latias' feelings at the moment, began to test out his new body. He felt exhilarated to be able to fly. It was just so effortless to soar here and there in the sky.

"Oh Hey! Latias, how do we change back into human forms?" Ash asked, completely unsure about how to work a Latios' body. Latias was quick to answer.

"Well we are psychic pokemon. We have the ability to shift our appearance by using that power. What you have to do is pool some of that psychic energy into a form you desire to change into and force that energy into your body once it has made a link with the image you want." Latias quickly instructed. It took a couple of tries, but after a while there stood the fifth-teen year old trainer again. He looked down and sighed with relief. His pokeballs and clothes were still there.

"Phew! That feels normal now!" Ash said, but he couldn't ignore the power he could feel inside of himself and couldn't help but miss the feeling of flying.

"I wonder how you are going to explain this to everyone else..." Latias said, but not telepathically.

"Yeah. I wonder how too," Ash said, but then realized that he could understand her, even in his human form. Latias looked at him in surprise and mentally jumped for joy. Now he could understand her and was even like her, to an extent.

"Let's head back to the others. I got a feeling this is going to take some time to explain," Ash said as he began walking, the female eon dragon followed closely behind him, giddy with happiness and believing that now...she had a chance.

* * *

"They've been gone a long time," Dawn said as she looked to the outside world from the first floor window of Bianca's house.

"Pika, Pi Pikachu(I'm sure they are fine)" Pikachu said as he looked out the window as well. It was starting to get dark now however.

"Or! Maybe Ash went out with Latias to get some... 'Alone Time'," Brock said suggestively. Bianca promptly whacked him in the back of the head for being such a pervert and voicing such thoughts.

Ash's pokemon were still out of their pokeballs because Ash had not returned them yet, and they talked among themselves to guess what was going on. The main debate was whether or not he had gotten lost again.

Suddenly, there was a knock, and Lorenzo made his way to open the door. There stood the two young teens: one, a mirror image of Bianca, the other a boy with messy black hair and his signature hat.

"It's about time you two," Lorenzo scolded as he motioned for the two to come in. They stepped in, feeling a little bit guilty. That feeling would quickly go away however and be replaced with another.

Brock was immediately upon Ash, barraging him with questions.

"So did you kiss her? Is she your girlfriend now? Hmm Tell meee! Tell meeee!" Brock exclaimed as he began to gush over the two.

"WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Ash roared, his face feeling about one-hundred degrees hotter now. Luckily, they were spared more embarrassment as Brock's Croagunk came out and Poison Jabbed Brock, dragging him away in the process. Ash reminded himself to give Croagunk his thanks later.

"So what held you two up?" Dawn asked as Ash returned all of his waiting pokemon.

"Yeah you had me worried, I could have sworn you had gotten lost; you are the worst navigator after all you lunkhead," Pikachu said.

"Hey! I'm not a lunkhead!" Ash said to Pikachu. Pikachu cocked his head in surprise.

"How did you understand me so well?" Pikachu exclaimed as he jumped with astonishment.

"It's a long story Pikachu," Ash said as he sighed. Brock, Dawn, Bianca and Lorenzo looked at him with a look that clearly said. 'Did you go crazy?'

"Hey don't give me those looks, I just understand poke-speech now is all!" Ash said in defense as he held up his hands.

"What do you mean you can understand poke-speech?" Dawn questioned as she held Piplup.

"I for one don't believe him. He's probably lying," Piplup squeaked folding his fins.

"Well you better believe me Piplup, I can understand perfectly what you are saying," Ash said with a smirk. Piplup promptly became open-beaked, and Latias laughed at the face that Piplup made.

"Woah woah woah! Back up! Back up!" Brock said as he was clearly not following. "Tell the whole story."

"Can we eat first? I'm starving!" Ash exclaimed, and they all laughed at Ash's typical actions.

* * *

So they ate, and over dinner, Ash told them of what he had seen and what had happened. He told them how he and Latias were playing near the fountain, and he felt called to the Soul Dew. He told them how he saw and freed Latios for the last time. Bianca was in tears at this point, but she was glad that Latios had found peace. Then, Ash told them of his waking.

"What do you mean the jewel was gone?" Lorenzo asked with frantic worry. The town would surely die if the jewel was gone right?

"Don't worry Lorenzo, I've checked the flow of water, it's as strong as ever," Ash assured and Latias agreed with a quick "Tia" Slowly, Lorenzo calmed, but he pondered the reason why the waters were still strong.

"Well what happened after that?" Dawn prompted. Ash was unsure how he was going to put the next part, but he decided to do it bluntly.

"Well, uhhhhh.. how do I put it...I ummm," Ash stammered.

"C'mon Ash, just spit it out," Brock said tiredly; he was already having trouble following the story at this point anyway.

"I became a Latios. Or at least I have the form of one," Ash bluntly answered. Silence followed this declaration and then the expected explosion came.

"WHATTT!" The entire table, except for Latias and Ash screeched. The other pokemon just looked at Ash, as if he had gone crazy.

"It's true!" Ash said with a defensive tone, "Here watch!" He stood up and closed his eyes and focused on the caged power inside of him. Right before everyone's eyes, he transformed. Once again, the Black Latios appeared. The entire table was quiet, flabbergasted by the sight before them. It was impossible right? The sight before them was a trick, or that's what they thought. The first one to speak up was Pikachu however.

"Ash?" he asked as he stared at his trainer. The Black Latios nodded. Pikachu didn't know what to think. It was strange to think of Ash as a pokemon. What other pokemon could say that they were trained by a licensed pokemon?

Pikachu's question shook everyone else back into reality, and they fired away their comments and questions.

"Wow! Ash, you're a pokemon! Who would have ever thought that loving pokemon as much as you do could turn you into one." Dawn said with a giggle.

"I need to draw you! There's no other Latios like you in the world! Even the shiny ones are just green," Bianca said as she took out her sketch pad, eager to draw the rare sight in front of her.

'err okay...' he telepathically said. It was just surprise after surprise after surprise for them.

"Hmmmmmm, I wonder if you are catch-able," Brock said to himself with a smile.

'DON'T YOU DA..' Ash roared in his mind, but it was too late. The pokeball flew towards him, and braced himself for a fight. But none came; all he felt was a thud and heard a dull thunk on the floor. The pokeball had not even attempted to capture him.

"What just happened?" Dawn asked, totally confused. Piplup, Pikachu and all the other pokemon were looked at him strangely too. He was a pokemon; so why couldn't he be captured?

"As I thought!" Brock exclaimed, "You are still part human and cannot be captured. Excellent!" Ash didn't think so. He was still fuming that Brock had tried to capture him.

'Excellent? You tried to catch on of your friends!' Ash roared physically. He felt somewhat betrayed at the actions of the breeder

"Hey, It was for a good reason! I don't want to find out much later that you are capture-able and we lose you Ash!" Brock exclaimed, meaning every word and wanting to explain his actions. Latias laid her hand on Ash's shoulder in assurance.

Ash calmed a bit. He knew that Brock would never try to do anything bad to him and relaxed. He quickly decided to return to his human form to avoid all the strange looks he was getting.

"Hey, stop looking at me like that!" Ash shouted, uncomfortable with the stares. His own pokemon were staring at him like he was a god. Lengendaries were akin to gods, so it made sense. "I'm still the same Ash! I haven't changed a bit in who I am!" The rest of his friends stopped staring, a little bit ashamed that they had just stared at him like he was a freak show or something.

"Of course you are Ash. You're the same, hot-headed, pokemon obsessed, dense, direction-impaired, rash, impatient, kind kid we all know and love," Brock said finishing the conversation. Ash nodded in thanks, before realizing what he had just said.

"HEY!" Ash yelled in realization. Everyone laughed at his typical slowness, and they got ready for bed. Ash and Brock went up to shower, and Lorenzo had gone straight to sleep. All of the pokemon had been returned, and Pikachu waited upstairs in Ash's room. That left Latias, Dawn and Bianca alone downstairs.

"SOOO Latias. What do you think of Ash's new form. Hmmm?" Bianca asked with mischievous eyes as she move forward, sketchpad still in her lap. Latias flushed hard as she recalled every detail of Ash's Latios body with detail.

"Aww look she's blushing. How cute!" Dawn gushed as she giggled. Latias, if even possible, reddened even more. She could have died from embarrassment right at that moment. Was she really that obvious?

"Sooo! What are you going to do about this Latias," Bianca said, her voice shifting to seriousness.

'I...I don't know. Wha..what you're talking about,' Latias stammered mentally. She could have sworn that her face would never return to its normal color.

"Oh pleeassee Latias, you were totally ravaging his form with your eyes. Anyone that paid any attention to you could see it!" Bianca said with a smirk. Latias face planted into the table to avoid her friend's baiting. The image of Ash in his Latios form was just too tantalizingly tempting to imagine, and she needed to clear her head before it became clouded again with desire and love.

"Oh let it go Bianca, can't you tell that Latias is already mortified with embarrassment," Dawn said, feeling a bit sorry for the dragon girl, but she too smiled.

"Oh alright. I'll stop... for now..." Bianca said with a grin as she stood up to put her plate in the sink, and both girls at the table followed suit. They prepared themselves for bed and settled in for the night.

The day after tomorrow would be the last day that Ash and his friends would be staying, because the ship was going to leave in the evening. Latias really wondered what she was going to do, because she was sure, that if Ash left again, she would surely die of heartbreak.

* * *

Now for those of who are wondering. Why black? It's because of his signature raven colored hair, and because I like the color scheme.

0-0-0-0

Isn't that cute lol. I had fun teasing Latias in this chapter. I hope you like where this story is going! Some more of the plot is going to be revealed soon.

Thanks for reading! And please review!

-Mekon


	3. Ch2: Testing the Limits

**DISCLAIMER**

Nooooooooooo, you got it all wrong! I don't own Pokemon!

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare and visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero that could decide the fate of the world. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

**A/N **

**Any pokespeech in the vicinity of Ash will be in English. Otherwise I will put it both in pokespeech and English**

* * *

Last Time:

_"SOOO Latias. What do you think of Ash's new form. Hmmm?" Bianca asked with mischievous eyes as she move forward, sketchpad still in her lap. Latias flushed hard as she recalled every detail of Ash's Latios body with detail._

_"Aww look she's blushing. How cute!" Dawn gushed as she giggled. Latias, if even possible, reddened even more. She could have died from embarrassment right at that moment. Was she really that obvious?_

_"Sooo! What are you going to do about this Latias," Bianca said, her voice shifting to seriousness._

_'I...I don't know. Wha..what you're talking about,' Latias stammered mentally. She could have sworn that her face would never return to its normal color._

_"Oh pleeassee Latias, you were totally ravaging his form with your eyes. Anyone that paid any attention to you could see it!" Bianca said with a smirk. Latias face planted into the table to avoid her friend's baiting. The image of Ash in his Latios form was just too tantalizingly tempting to imagine, and she needed to clear her head before it became clouded again with desire and love._

_"Oh let it go Bianca, can't you tell that Latias is already mortified with embarrassment," Dawn said, feeling a bit sorry for the dragon girl, but she too smiled._

_"Oh alright. I'll stop... for now..." Bianca said with a grin as she stood up to put her plate in the sink, and both girls at the table followed suit. They prepared themselves for bed and settled in for the night._

_The day after tomorrow would be the last day that Ash and his friends would be staying, because the ship was going to leave in the evening. Latias really wondered what she was going to do, because she was sure, that if Ash left again, she would surely die of heartbreak._

* * *

Ch2: Testing the Limits

Pikachu stretched and yawned as he felt the warmth of morning sun's rays filtering in through the window on his back. Lazily, he looked towards his trainer and jumped back in surprise.

There on his bed lay a Black Latios, who was snoring away without a care in the world.

"What the heck!" Pikachu shouted as he looked at the legendary physic dragon. It took him a moment, but he then remembered that Ash was part pokemon now. The dragon actually was Ash, and as usual, Ash was busy snoring away, blissfully unaware that the rest of the world had awoken. Pikachu would have Thundershocked him, but he knew that Ash's new resistance to his attacks would do close to nothing in his current state. Pikachu just shrugged in indifference as he hopped downstairs; he could smell some of Brock's cooking already, and not even he would pass that up.

He walked into the room with a yawn, and everyone said good morning to him. He noticed that Dawn, Bianca, Latias and Lorenzo were already at the table waiting for breakfast from Brock. Latias was not in her human guise at the moment however.

"Have a good rest Pikachu?" Dawn asked, and Pikachu nodded as he walked to were the pokemon were eating.

"Let me guess. Ash is still snoozing away up there," Brock said as he flipped some pancakes and seasoned the still-cooking eggs with a special spice of his own creation.

"Chaaa( yeah)" Pikachu said, his mouth watering for some of Brock's food. Maybe a little ketchup would be good right now too.

"That guy could sleep through the apocalypse and not feel a single thing." Brock commented as he returned to his cooking. Dawn agreed with the breeder, returning to eating her breakfast after.

"Well if he doesn't wake up soon, he's going to miss breakfast. And we all know that he definitely won't be okay with that," Dawn said, as she scooped some eggs into her moth. "Someone should go and wake him up."

Bianca then turned to Latias with a sly smile.

"C'mon Latias, go and wake up Ash," Bianca said, nudging the female eon. Bianca was set on giving Latias a head start with Ash. Latias turned slightly pink, but agreed as she floated up the stairs. "Don't do anything Brock would!" Latias heard a protesting Brock and giggled while trying to calm her raging heart as she came into Ash's room.

"Ash?" Latias asked as she poked her slender neck through the door first. What greeted her was a very pleasant sight for her. Ash, in his Latios form, was sleeping so peacefully on his bed, and she giggled at the cute scene. As she floated closer, she took more notice of his Latios' physical appearance. His wings looked tone and firm. His arms and claws seemed strong and deadly. But what entranced her the most was his tranquil smile. She nudged him softly, telling him to wake up in the process.

"C'mon Ash, you don't want to miss Brock's breakfast do you?" Latias said teasingly as she continued to try to wake Ash.

It took a couple of tries, but once the word Brock and breakfast had registered with a semi-awake Ash, he opened his eyes quickly, unaware of his physical change.

"Morning Ash." Latias said as she nuzzled Ash's neck fondly.

"Hey... morning Latias," Ash yawned out. Then he noticed that he was in his Latios form. He guessed it was because it cost mental power to sustain the human form, because it cost some small power to cage his Latios form. "Did you say breakfast?" Latias nodded. Ash decided to just levitate out of bed; it was certainly easier than walking. He followed Latias down the stairs into the kitchen, where the delectable smell of Brock's cooking entered his now overly sensitive nose.

Some surprised looks were given, but they shrugged it off after they remembered who the black Latios was. They were coping surprisingly well.

'Morning everyone,' he psychically said. They all greeted him in response. Brock had finally finished cooking breakfast, and Ash, like the glutton he was, ate more than enough. Everything seemed to taste better now due to his increased senses.

"Hey calm down Ash! There's plenty of food," Brock said, trying to reassure the eating eon dragon who was simply plowing through the breakfast food meant for everyone. He ate through the pancakes, eggs, bacon, muffins, toast and was going to start on the crepes soon. And even the orange juice was rapidly disappearing in conjunction with the food.

'I'm just extra hungry. I think this pokemon body takes a lot more energy to run,' he said as he continued vigorously eating.

"Hmm yes that would make sense," Brock commented as he brought more food, "After all, a pokemon has to be strong to able to use attacks and generate that kind of energy." Ash nodded.

Finally, everyone was settling down. Now that he was properly fed, Ash returned to using his human form, and Latias followed his example.

"Hey Ash. Are you going to enter the Tour de Alto Mare this year?" Bianca asked as she finished her breakfast.

"Uhhh... When is it?" Ash asked. He had no idea when it was.

"Actually, it's tomorrow," Lorenzo answered nonchalantly, not realizing that he had just set off a bomb in the form of an overly excited Ash.

"WHAT! I gotta train then! I have to win this time!" Ash said with determination. He may have become part pokemon, but that didn't diminish his drive to better his own pokemon and reach towards his dream.

"I want to enter too!" Dawn said enthusiastically as her partner Piplup agreed.

"Which pokemon are you going to use Ash?" Latias asked. Everyone who didn't understand pokespeech was beginning to feel left out. "It has to be a really powerful swimmer."

"Telepathy please!" Dawn begged. Latias complied, and Ash answered by taking out a pokeball.

"I'm going to use Buizel. He's perfect for this challenge," Ash said confidently as Buizel came out. Ash explained the situation to Buizel, and he responded with an excited and pumped 'bui bui'. Buizel never backed down from a challenge.

"Alright lets get to it!" Ash said as he rushed outside. Brock and Dawn followed suit, wanting to get some of their own training in as well. Latias was about to leave,but the firm grip of Lorenzo stopped her.

"We must talk first Latias," Lorenzo said as he motioned for her to sit. He took a seat next to Bianca, opposite of the legendary eon dragon. He folded his hands in a thoughtful way and waited for a moment before beginning his discussion.

"What do you plan on doing now?" Lorenzo asked. Latias was somewhat annoyed. He asked the same question that Bianca had asked last night.

'What do you mean?' she asked telepathically.

"We mean about Ash," Bianca added, "We both know that you haven't been this happy and active in a long time. And ever since Ash got here, you've been so happy and excited and lively. You get my point." Latias looked down at the table, not sure how to respond.

"Coming from those who mean best for you. I think it would be a good idea for you to go with Ash when he leaves Altomare," Lorenzo said quietly. He was not entirely sure how Latias would handle the suggestion. He hoped that she didn't hate the idea. It was quite the opposite however, and the female eon looked up in surprise. This was the last thing she expected from Lorenzo and Bianca.

'Wha..what?' Latias asked, stunned and very surprised.

"We think it's time that you leave the nest. Altomare is safe now, Ash made sure of that. I have checked the fountain frequently, and its flow is still strong. You need to go out and explore the world. See new places, get some battle experience and make some more friends," Lorenzo responded with meaning.

'Are...are you sure?' Latias asked, still trying to get over the shock of this opportunity.

"Yes. I think it will be the best thing for you," he replied. Latias smiled as she went over to hug her two family members.

'Thank you so much.' Latias said as she enveloped the two in her bone-crushing hug.

"Latias..can't breathe!" Bianca wheezed. Latias quickly let go, and Bianca started laughing.

"I'll let you tell Ash Latias, I'm very certain that he would love to have you travel with him," Lorenzo said with a smile.

"Yeah and I'm sure that you!... would love to travel with him," Bianca added with a wink. Latias blushed, and she nodded towards Lorenzo.

"It's settled then! But remember! If he mistreats you or anything like that! Come straight back home," Lorenzo added with a warning. Latias nodded, knowing full well that Ash would never do anything of the sort.

"Before you go Latias come upstairs with me," Bianca said with a smile. Latias quirked her head in confusion, but followed her best friend up the stairs into her room.

'What are we doing?' she asked Bianca.

"I think it's time that you made your own form," Bianca answered as she motioned Latias to stand in front of a full body mirror.

* * *

"Buizel lets go! Aqua Jet!" Ash shouted as Buizel faced his opponent, a Hoppip. It was a tough battle for Buizel. He had already taken considerable damage, but his opponent had also suffered numerous successful attacks.

"Hoppip use Energy Ball!" the other trainer said. The Hoppip quickly formed a ball of grass energy in its hands and sent it towards Buizel.

"Dodge it by spinning with Aqua Jet!" Ash shouted quickly. Buizel listened and easily dodged the oncoming energy ball, as he rocketed off of the ground in a torrent of water. Buizel smashed into the floating Hoppip with the extreme force of the attack, scoring a direct hit, but it would not go down just yet, its grass-type protecting it from receiving too much damage.

"Use Grass Knot!" Hoppip's trainer said. The grass-type quickly weaved a line of vines that tripped Buizel up, making him fall flat on his face, but he took minimal damage as he was light weight. However, it was still super effective. The battle was coming to a close now as both pokemon wear nearing their breaking point.

"Let's go Hoppip! Use Razor Leaf!" the challenger said. The Hoppip fired off quick Razor Leaves at Buizel. If they hit it would be over for Buizel.

"Buizel! Counter Shield Water Gun now!" Ash commanded. The challenger quickly voiced a 'Huh?' He had never heard of that attack before.

Buizel quickly began to spin on the ground, sending Water Gun attacks up into the air and around him in a circular pattern. They effectively blocked every single Razor Leaf and attacked Hoppip at the same time! The opposite trainer stood there dumbfounded, he had never seen that technique before.

"Finish it up with Ice Punch!" Ash shouted, as he punched the air. Buizel rushed in, taking advantage of the falling water with Swift Swim, with the other trainer too slow to react, and smashed his iced fist into Hoppip sending it flying into the ground by the super-effective attack. The impact created a cloud of dust, and when it faded away, Hoppip was swirly-eyed and fainted.

"Hoppip is unable to battle. Buizel and Ash are the winners!" Brock announced.

"Yeah! Good job Buizel!" Ash cheered.

"Thanks Ash!" Buizel responded as he gave him a thumbs up. The trainer shook hands with Ash, complimented him on his battle style, and left to heal his tired pokemon.

"Phew! Only midday and we've already battled four people! I'm exhausted," Ash said as he sat on the ground. He returned Buizel to his pokeball and just sat on the ground for a while, resting.

Dawn was off to the side, practicing with her pokemon for the contests in Kanto. She needed to come up with some more combination attacks and appeal moves.

"Want something to eat?" Brock asked, already knowing the answer. Ash was always hungry, especially after pokemon battles.

"YES!" Ash said as he bolted upright, and Pikachu sweatdropped at his trainer's quick mood swing. Brock whipped up a quick and delicious lunch with the food he carted around with him, and everyone had a picnic under the shade of a tree.

"Hey look someone's coming!" Pikachu announced as his sensitive ears and smell alerted him to a new presence.

Suddenly, a girl appeared. She had long auburn hair, tied into one ponytail, that cascaded and flowed around her gracefully with two parts sticking up like horns. She wore a sleeveless green shirt that hugged her curves nicely, skinny jeans and some white sandals. Her skin was flawless, and her eyes were a deep golden-brown color. She was the most beautiful girl any of them had ever seen, and Brock almost fainted at the sight. (1)

The rising breeder was about to go up and perform his usual routine when she went up to Ash and kissed his cheek. This time he did faint and twitched in despair. Ash blushed hard as he felt the girl kiss his cheek, being only the third time anyone had kissed him. She giggled cutely as she hugged him and nuzzled her face on his.

"Uhhhhhh do I know you?" Ash asked uncomfortably, his face still on fire from the unexpected kiss and the cuddling she was doing. She giggled again as she became enveloped in light.

"Latias?" Ash asked in complete surprise and astonishment.

"Yup!" She said as she blushed. She was pleased by the reaction she had gotten out of everyone. Brock was on the floor twitching in a nightmare; Ash was speechless with wide eyes, and Dawn smiled as she looked at the girl eon dragon approvingly

Brock finally recovered as he looked around frantically for the beautiful girl he had surely missed. Latias giggled as she resumed using her new human guise. Brock's jaw dropped as he realized that he had no chance.

"WHY! WHY MUST THE UNIVERSE BE SO CRUEL TO ME!" he wailed into the sky causing Latias to giggle again.

"So I see that you guys like her new human form." Bianca said as she entered the scene with a satisfied smirk. "I would have come with her but she was soooo eager to show off her new body to some people." Latias blushed; she knew exactly what Bianca was talking about.

"Wow so you changed your appearance! How did you do that?" Dawn asked, clueless.

"She's a psychic. She only has to imagine her form. I just helped her design it," Bianca proudly said. Lorenzo followed up after Bianca, merely strolling along in a relaxed state.

"Well I think it's time Latias," Lorenzo said as he motioned for the eon dragon to get on with it.

"Time for what?" Ash questioned, unaware of what was happening. Latias timidly approached Ash before talking.

"Ummmm well, Bianca, Lorenzo and I were talking...and um... I want to go with you," Latias said as she shuffled her feat, "Like...when you leave for Kanto."

Brock and Dawn sighed, even though she was in her human disguise, she was still talking pokespeech. They would have to fix that sooner or later.

"Wait...you want to come with me?" Ash asked skeptically as Brock and Dawn got the picture. She nodded.

"On one condition!" Lorenzo interrupted, "You must take care of her and provide for her. You have to teach her how to battle and be strong. And you will promise that you will never hurt her in anyway!" Lorenzo knew that Ash would do all of these things, but he wanted to make sure.

"Of course!" Ash answered with conviction. First however they needed to head over to the pokemon center to exchange some pokeballs. But something came up.

"Prepare for Trouble Twerps, We're here!" An annoyingly familiar voice said from behind.

"And make it double while you shake in fear!" the annoying male voice said. Everyone groaned knowing who it was.

"To protect our frail occupation!" Jessie said.

"We're going to steal on your vacation!" James said in a rhyme.

"To capture your pokemon!" the red-head said.

"And get us some dough to get this show on!" the guy said.

"Jessie!" she announced.

"James!" the purple haired thief said.

"Team Rocket! Blast off at the speed of light!" Jessie answered.

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" James followed up.

"Meooowth dats right!" the cat pokemon said as he flipped between the two.

"Not you guys again! I thought we lost you in Sinnoh!" Ash said, extremely annoyed.

"Not a chance twoip. We was following ya the entire times," Meowth said with a snicker.

"I thought we lost them and got lucky because the submarine crashed?" James said obliviously.

"James! Don't tell em dat!" Meowth said as he fury swiped his face. James shrieked in agony as he clutched his face. Three claw marks adorned it now.

Everyone in the group sweat dropped.

"What's up with using the first motto?" Brock asked with a raised brow. He had not heard them use that motto for a long time.

"Well the blue twerpette never heard it, and we are back in the Johto and Kanto region!" Jessie said, feeling a little bit nostalgic. "That was wayyyy back when your girlfriend twerp was here." She directed that towards Ash.

"SHE IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Ash shouted, his face red. Latias sighed in relief, but felt some jealousy because she noticed him blushing. She thought she had already lost for a second there however.

"Aww ain't dat cute. Even after all of dis time, he still blushes," Meowth said with a laugh. Ash was getting really annoyed now.

"But wait! Look at that brunette twerp with the long hair and hair spikes on each side," Jessie said, pointing out Latias, "So you got yourself a NEW girlfriend huh twerp?" Latias and Ash blushed, he was about to deny that also, but Meowth interrupted him.

"Ha! Your blush says it all. No point in denyin it. Ya might as well kiss and be done wit it," Meowth said with a cackle as he mocked the blushing teens. They both turned crimson again, as images began to pool in their heads. Ash thought this had gone on far enough however.

"Pikachu! End this with a Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded, and Pikachu sent a super-powerful shock towards them.

"I dun think so Pikachu!" Meowth said as he pressed a button on his remote. A large robot rose up behind them and took the attack. It was completely unaffected. The three Rockets laughed maliciously, thinking that they were geniuses.

"I don't matta what you do to our new Poke-Catcher 5000. It's completely poke-attack proof," Meowth said as he pressed another button on the remote. Pikachu's Thunderbolt came back at them and hit Pikachu. He rolled back in pain, but grit his teeth. He was not one to go down so easily, especially to his own attack.

"We'll see about that! Infernape, Buizel, Torterra, Gliscor, Staraptor help me out!" Ash said as he tossed all of his pokeballs. Brock and Dawn did the same thing.

"Infernape use flamethrower! Buizel Water Pulse! Torterra Energy Ball! Gliscor Stone Edge! Staraptor Brave Bird!" Ash commanded. Brock and Dawn commanded their pokemon to attack as well.

The attacks collided all at once, and a huge, deafening explosion resulted. But after that, all that could be heard was three high pitched laughs. Once the smoke cleared, they could still see the robot standing proud and tall, with not so much as a scratch on it.

"Ahahahahahaa We told yas that it was impossibles. Now we'll be taking our prize! Tanks so much for getting them out fer us!" Meowth said as he, Jessie and James hopped into the robot. Suddenly, hundreds of arms rushed towards the pokemon and grabbed them.

"Ash!" Pikachu cried out as he was being pulled towards the pokemon storage compartment. They had grabbed everyone's pokemon too and Latias!

"Latias hold on!" Bianca cried as she saw her best friend get carried away.

"Hahahhah! A day that finally went our way!" Jessie said with twinkling eyes. The pokemon were trying to escape as hard as they could in their prison but to no avail. Team Rocket had put up a glass panel so they could see out of at least, but that only tormented the anguished people below more.

"All that work at the Sinnoh cup finally paid off!" James said with glee as he closed the compartment that held the pokemon.

"Well we'll be on our way twoips!" Meowth said as he was about to turn around with the robot and pokemon.

"I don't think so!" Ash roared, rage filled his eyes. He was sick and tired of them pulling this stunt every time and causing him so much grief. Then he felt it, the spark of power inside of him.

He pulled his hands back and gathered the energy from that fire inside of him. His friends looked at him in astonishment. Then he launched the attack. The ball of energy barreled towards the Team Rocket machine and exploded upon contact.

"Whaaahaha!" The three inside cried out. The robot wasn't damaged badly, but it had almost tipped over.

"The main twoip attacked us!" Meowth said with disbelief.

"That was an Aura Sphere attack.(2)" Brock said in excitement. Dawn, Lorenzo, and Bianca looked at Ash; he was their last hope of getting their friends back.

Ash shouted in rage and without knowing it, he had changed into his Latios form. Team Rocket recognized that body structure from the last time they were here.

"WHATTT! THE TWERP/TWOIP IS A LENGENDARY POKEMON!" all three screamed. Ash raced towards them in anger and became covered in a purple and yellow light, ramming powerfully into the machine, knocking it over.

"That was Giga Impact!" Brock exclaimed. It was quite a sight to see Ash battling. However, the robot was still up and running, easily recovering from the attack.

"That twerp! Take this!" Jessie said as she pressed a button. A stream of fire bellowed out from the machine.

On instinct, Ash put his hands up to protect himself and closed his eyes waiting for the pain. It never came.

"The Twerp protected himself with Protect!" James yelled. Ash opened his eyes to see that he had thrown up a green shield, and it deflected the flamethrower.

"Alright then lets try the missiles!" Jessie said as their robot fired off dozens of missiles all locking onto Ash. He couldn't let any of them explode; he didn't want the town to get damage or anyone getting hurt.

Ash knew just what to do. His eyes began to glow blue as the missiles became enveloped in a blue light. Ash just tossed them back to them, and they exploded into the machine, but it still didn't destroy it. It just pushed it back. Ash was tiring now, but he had to continue for his friends.

"This is so unfair! He used Psychic to repel the missiles!" James lamented as he pushed more buttons. Ash was finally fed up with it all and, he turned invisible on instinct.

"HEY! WHERE'D THE TWIOP GO!" Meowth exclaimed as the Black Latios had disappeared from view. They fired off a bunch of random flamethrowers but they hit nothing but air.

Ash flew up into the sky and raised his right claw. He had no idea what kind of attack it was, but he was going to use it. An energy ball began to form at the tip of his hand, and he let the energy fly from his claws, revealing himself in the process. It was a blueish-white color, and it sped towards Team Rocket's machine.

"Oh no. Not again!" Meowth said as he saw the attack coming. Suddenly, there was a colossal explosion and a burst of extremely bright light. And Team rocket was sent flying from the machine.

"Meowth! I though you said that that machine was pokemon attack proof!" James yelled as he flew through the air.

"It was only pokemon attack proof from that attacks that are known! I dunno what that attack was!" Meowth protested.

"Great! We get our plans foiled because your knowledge is insufficient. Typical," Jessie said with folding her hands in the air.

"Why I outa!" Meowth said as he attempted to get to the red haired Team Rocket member.

"Better save it for later because it..." James said.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" All three shouted as they disappeared with a twinkle.

All of the pokemon crawled out of the machine and shook off the attack. Latias immediately changed into her pokemon form and rushed to Ash who was wavering weakly in the air.

Ash was breathing hard now as he floated in the air. He was about to fall when he felt two arms catch him and slowly lower him to the ground. Briefly he wondered how his own pokemon battle for so long? Ash made a mental note to train with them some more.

"Are you okay Ash?" Latias asked as she lowered him onto the ground. She was worried, he didn't look too good.

"Just extremely tired," he grumbled to himself. Tired was an understatement, and he struggled to stay awake. Quickly, his pokemon rushed to him to make sure he was alright.

"You feeling alright Ash?" Pikachu asked as he hopped onto his friend's back. Ash smiled as he looked up from his position on the ground. They were lucky no one was around to see the two legendaries out in the open.

"I think I'll be fine Pikachu," he reassured, just wanting to rest. The rest of his pokemon were looking over him for injuries.

"You should have seen yourself!" Gliscor said as he motioned the battle with his claws. "you were like! Boom! Smash! And Team rocket was like Ahhh! Then it was like boom! And and.." Staraptor quickly shut up the rambling Gliscor with a wing to the mouth.

"You did really good for a first time battler." Buizel said as he crossed his arms in new found respect for his trainer. He was impressed with the power he held.

"Your attacks were awesome! But what was that last one?" Infernape asked as he helped his trainer stand, well float, back up.

"Yeah it was really powerful!" Torterra said as he supported his trainer. Each one of Ash's pokemon's hearts swelled with love and respect for their trainer as they recalled him valiantly fighting for them.

"It's called Luster Purge. Only a Latios can perform that attack, well unless a metronome gets lucky. It's a psychic attack that kind of blinds your enemy for a while thus lowering their special defense," she answered. She too felt her heart burst with love for Ash as she recalled him fighting for them. She felt her face heat up as she recalled his majestic dodging, his powerful attacks and his determination and will. Quickly, Latias tried to control herself.

Brock, Dawn, Bianca and Lorenzo came over to Ash now. They were kind of tongue-tied and unsure what to say after his performance.

"Uhhhh you did a good job Ash," Brock said lamely. There was really no way to describe how the situation had turned out.

'Uhh forget it,' Ash said as he tried to wave off what he did as nothing important. But Dawn tried to break the ice.

"So what was that last attack Ash? I've never seen that one before," She asked, genuinely curious.

"Luster Purge,-" Lorenzo supplied, "-the signature move of any Latios." Bianca nodded in confirmation, explaining it to the remaining humans. Ash decided to shift back into his human form, costing him much effort however. He fell on his knees, and his friends quickly rushed in to help the tiring boy. He waved them off, telling them he was fine and stood up in defiance. He hated feeling this weak, and he was determined not to show it. The group let out a breath of relief as the normal sight of Ash reappeared. It was still somewhat unusual to see Ash become a pokemon however.

"I guess we just aren't used to the fact that you have the powers of a pokemon now." Brock added as he chuckled. Latias giggled as she hugged her best friend and Lorenzo. They were glad everyone had not been hurt.

"What were we doing again? I totally forgot," Bianca asked, drawing a blank.

'We were going to the pokemon center to transfer out pokemon so I could become Ash's pokemon!' Latias yelled telepathically in disbelief that her friends had forgotten so easily.

"Oh yeah! Well let's go!" Bianca responded. Everyone nodded as they made their way to the nearby pokemon center. They just shrugged off the attack as if I was an everyday occurrence, which it was, however; the way they gotten out of it stuck in their minds. Latias had changed back into her custom form, and Brock began to swoon before Bianca promptly whacked him in the head. Ash blushed a bit as he saw her form again, and Bianca slyly smiled, easily noticing his reation. The new form was doing its job.

Finally they arrived at the pokemon center, and Brock did his thing.

"Oh Joy! The Joy of all Altomare! How my heart flows with love as this city flows with water!" he proclaimed as he held Nurse Joy's hand. Once again Crogunk intervened. "And...my...flow...is...blocked...by...cruel...fate..." The rest of the group rolled their eyes with laughter. Typical.

"Where's the PC Nurse Joy?" Ash asked.

"It's down the hallway in the room to the right," Nurse Joy said as she pointed to the room. Everyone nodded, and they made their way to the room mentioned.

Ash entered in Professor Oak's number and waited as the video call went through. Professor Oak's face showed up on the screen.

"Ah! Ash m'boy how are you?" Oak started off.

"Fine, usual, well somethings anyway," Ash said mareepishly.

"What do you mean by that Ash?" Oak asked as he gave him a confused look.

"Nothing at all Professor!" Ash replied quickly before he introduced everyone else. Dawn was particularly excited to meet the famous researcher.

"So what do you need Ash?" Professor Oak asked.

"I need to deposit a pokemon," Ash responded. Professor Oak looked at him strangely.

"Whatever for Ash?" the professor wondered. It was strange that Ash would be depositing a pokemon. After all, if a pokemon was caught and the trainer had six pokeballs already, it would be teleported to him_. 'It must be a rare pokemon if he wants to keep it from the lab' _he thought with glee. But he forgot something that could help Ash out.

"Ash, did you know that after five years, a pokemon trainer can expand his/her pokeball carrying capacity to 10?" the Professor asked with a smile.

"What! Really!" Ash said as he jumped at the chance to be able to have even more pokemon.

"Do you want me enable that option Ash?" he asked as he opened Ash's file.

"Of course! I would love to be able to carry more pokemon!" Ash exclaimed, his face beaming.

"Alrighty then! Here it goes," Oak responded as he typed a couple of commands into the computer. Ash heard his pokedex beep as it was updated. "There we go! All done. But remember, only six pokemon may be used in any standard battle. Anything else you need Ash?"

"Yeah. Can I get Gible back, I haven't gotten enough training for him yet," Ash said. Professor Oak nodded, and he retrieved Gible. Ash's pokeball came through the machine, and he released the only dragon pokemon he had ever caught. That would change soon however.

"Hey! Ash! What's up!" Gible said as he bounced up and down, happy to be back with his trainer.

"Not much... How was life at the lab?" Ash asked as he smiled towards the dragon pokemon.

"There's not enough things to bite! I ate through all the rocks already, and now I have to dig to get more!" Gible responded, completely oblivious that Ash had understood him perfectly. However, Professor Oak did notice and had eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"Hmm well there's always rocks in the ground right," Ash said chuckling. Gible nodded happily.

"Ash! Do you mean to tell me that you can understand what Gible is saying?" the old professor asked, with hope.

"Yup. It's a long story though," Ash said with indifference. "Well I gotta go now! Thanks for everything professor!"

"Wait! Make sure you visit me when you get back! I have lots of questions!" Professor Oak said as a final farewell. Ash nodded as he turned off the video phone.

"So is there anything good here to bite?" Gible asked. Ash laughed as he returned the dragon pokemon.

"Alright ready Latias?" Ash asked. She nodded as she turned into her dragon form. Ash took out a spare pokeball and lightly tapped her head. She became enveloped in a red light, and the pokeball didn't even shake.

Back in Kanto, Professor Oak was eying Ash's profile closely. He was waiting for whatever Ash was going to do.

Once Latias had been captured, Ash did his thing.

"Yes! I just caught! A Latias!" Ash said as he took a dramatic stance.

"Yeah we did!" Pikachu said as he made the peace sign. Dawn and Brock rolled their eyes. Bianca and Lorenzo were just looking at them for an explanation of Ash's strange behavior.

Latias then popped out of her ball.

"Ugh...it's so crowded in there!" Latias pouted. She did not want to get back in.

"That's fine. You can stay out like Pikachu, Latias!" Ash said with a smile. She nodded as she cooed happily. Latias had finally found a trainer.

"Uh can you like, talk in telepathy please! We don't understand pokespeech!" Everyone said exasperated and jealous. Latias, Ash and Pikachu laughed at their friends, and Latias knew that she would be alright now as long as she was with Ash.

Ash quickly took out his pokedex to see what it had to say about Latias.

"Latias the Legendary Eon Dragon Pokemon - No information is available," It said, but it took a picture of Latias and sent it to Professor Oak. That was expected. Sure humans knew that Latios and Latias existed, but they never revealed themselves to any researcher or actual trainer till now.

Professor Oak began to give up on Ash's profile, when suddenly, a new message appeared.

It said: "Trainer: Ash Ketchum has caught undocumented and unstudied species of pokemon." It also came with a picture. Professor Oak's eyes were glued to the screen as the computer searched through it's files.

"Information being transferred. Please Wait. Download Complete.

Latias- The Legendary Eon Dragon Pokemon. Type: Psychic/ Dragon. Awaiting input of behaviors, size, moves, gender, possible evolutions..."The list went on and on. Professor Oak realized that he had hit the jackpot!

* * *

(1) For a better look at the hair go here: http:/bulbapedia*bulbagarden*net/wiki/File:Latias_Maid_Adventures*png {just replace all * with . }

(2)I know that a Latios can't learn Aura Sphere, but Ash can use Aura so it's only natural that his pokemon form can too. Remember, he's the only kind in the world so of course he's special.

Well this was a really long chapter. I kind of go carried away I think. Well I hope you guys liked this chapter.

Thanks for reading and please review!

-Mekon


	4. Ch3: Red Everywhere

**DISCLAIMER**

Nooooooooooo, you got it all wrong! I don't own Pokemon!

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare and visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero that could decide the fate of the world. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Special thanks to my first two reviewers!

phantom5niper

Owner Pwner 380

I really appreciate it!

* * *

Last Time:

_Ash quickly took out his pokedex to see what it had to say about Latias._

"_Latias the Legendary Eon Dragon Pokemon - No information is available," It said, but it took a picture of Latias and sent it to Professor Oak. That was expected. Sure humans knew that Latios and Latias existed, but they never revealed themselves to any researcher or actual trainer till now._

_Professor Oak began to give up on Ash's profile, when suddenly, a new message appeared._

_It said: "Trainer: Ash Ketchum has caught undocumented species of pokemon," It also came with a picture. Professor Oak's eyes were glued to the screen as the computer searched through it's files._

"_Information being transferred. Please Wait. Download Complete._

_Latias- The Legendary Eon Dragon Pokemon. Type: Psychic/ Dragon. Awaiting input of behaviors, size, moves, gender, possible evolutions..." The list went on and on. Professor Oak realized that he had hit the jackpot! _

* * *

Ch3: Red Everywhere!

Latias had gone back to using her gorgeous human form right after she had jumped out of her pokeball,which caused Brock to promptly begin drooling until Bianca came over and smacked him for staring at her best friend. They all walked out of the PC room, with nothing, to the unknowing person, changed. No one other than the poeple and pokemon in that room knew what had just happened.

"Nurse Joy. Do I register for the race here?" Ash asked, hopeful as he leaned on the counter of the pokemon center.

"Yes of course!" Nurse Joy said as she typed something into the computer. "So what pokemon do you want to register for the competition Ash?"

"Buizel," Ash said as said pokemon popped out of its pokeball.

"Yeah! (Bui bui!)" the weasel pokemon said with excitement. Nurse Joy nodded and she placed Buizel's pokeball onto the machine, and the computer recorded the information.

"Done! The race starts tomorrow at ten o'clock sharp! Here's a map of the course,-" Nurse Joy said as he gave him the map, "-and here's your competition number. Just show your number and your pokedex and you're in!"

"Thanks Nurse Joy" Ash said happily as he took Buizel's pokeball back and returned him. She nodded. Dawn came up next and registered Piplup for the race once Ash had finished. Ash and co. were about to leave when suddenly, a very familiar voice rang out.

"Ash Ketchum! What are you doing here!" a voice cried out.

"Racing!" Ash said cheerfully as he realized who it was. He could recognize that voice any day and any where.

"Hah! I've been champ for three years now Ketchum! Me and Corsola nab it every year now!" a red-headed girl said playfully as she entered the pokemon center.

"Yeah well, this year you're gonna lose! Misty!" Ash yelled back, missing these petty arguments he had with his best friend. Misty smiled in light of the reunion with her best friend. He hadn't called in like six months, hadn't wrote, nothing. She rushed forward to hug him and did so. Latias envied the way that Misty so freely hugged Ash. The fact that Misty seemed to keen to parade around with more than the normal amount of ample skin did not settle Latias's jealousy.

"Hi Misty! (Pikachupi!)" Pikachu said as he rushed into Misty's arms and nuzzled her cheek affectionately.

"I missed you too Pikachu," Misty said as she hugged the little yellow mouse that was nestled in her arms.

"It's good to see you again Misty!" Ash said with a smile. She had filled out nicely in the five years of her absence; she was no longer that scrawny looking to Ash, but he would never admit that to her. She still wore her hair in her signiture side pony tail and still possessed that same fiery attitude. As usual her clothing was mainly consisted of the color yellow and stayed true to her style of shorts and an sleeveless top. He noticed that he was taller than her now however, and it felt weird to look down on his best friend;

"Brock! It's been so long!" Misty said as she ran forward to hug the rising breeder also, but not as hard as the hug she gave to Ash. She greeted everyone that she knew and finally met Dawn, eager to see that she took interest in water pokemon as well. She paid no attention to the brunette standing behind Bianca, believing her to be a passer-by.

"It's great to see you Misty. How's everything in Cerulean?" Brock asked, his mind mainly drifting towards the three other beauties that resided there. Misty figured as much and pinched his ears hard for thinking that way.

"Other than my sisters driving me crazy, it's great! I've become a lot stronger now! Bet I can beat you now Ash!" she said looking over her shoulder at the raven-haired trainer with a wink.

"can not!" he retorted, never backing down. He expected an argument however and smiled inwardly, glad nothing had changed despite her long absence.

"can too!"

"can not!"

"can too!"

Brock sweatdropped, this is what he had missed and he didn't miss it at all. Latias, felt the stab of jealousy even more now. Her face was heated as she witnessed the playful banter between the two. She tried to cool herself down, remembering that the girl in front of her had saved her and her brother also.

They went on for another five minutes before someone had to stop them. Latias was fed up by now and pushed the two apart.

"Hey! Who do you think you are!" Misty screamed at the unknown girl.

"Hey! Don't yell at her!" Ash roared back, defending his friend. He put his arms out to protect Latias from the unaware red head.

"Who is she! Ash!" Misty asked, ready to pull out her mallet and beat Ash with it.

"Calm down! Then I'll tell you!" He shouted back. Misty pouted, but became silent. She genuinely wanted to know who she was.

Dawn was so confused. Was this the person that Ash talked about all the time? His alleged best friend?

_'Great! Another gorgeous, beautiful, wonderful, girl, who isn't me is hanging with Ash! Great! Actually Two of them!' _She thought to herself bitterly. Why was it that Ash always! Always! had some beautiful girl hanging out with him?

Latias looked at her in confusion. She had picked up little bits of her thoughts, but mainly she sensed jealousy. Did Misty have feelings for Ash?

"Well are you going to tell me or not!" Misty asked hotly.

"Hold on! We gotta go somewhere private," Ash answered. It was getting dark now so they decided to head to Bianca's house. They entered the garden and Misty made her move.

"Now talk before my mallet pounds it outa ya," Misty said, meaning every word. The girl had followed them there, and Misty felt suspicious.

"Alright fine. Latias you can change now," Ash said as he gave the brunette the okay. Latias nodded and shifted back into her pokemon form. Misty blushed in embarrassment and remorse. She had mistaken Latias as a rival to Ash's affections. Little did she know, she was right on the money.

'It's good to see you too Misty,' Latias telepathed to the water pokemon trainer, albeit it sounded a bit forced.

"Oh Sorry about yelling at you Latias. I didn't know you had changed your form _into such a vixen_," She said, but the last part was thought.

'It's okay. No hard feelings,' Latias said. Misty nodded.

"So any other surprises I should know about," Misty asked glaring, knowing something else was up.

"Hmmmm maybe..." Ash said in a singsong voice, easily provoking the volatile red head.

"Ash Ketchum you better tell me this instant!" Misty said as she stomped her feet.

"Win a battle against me, and I'll tell ya," Ash said with his usual cockiness. He was sure he would win, and it would be fun to tease Misty some more.

"Fine! Lets battle! 2 on 2!" Misty said with confidence.

'Stand by Latias, I'll call on you if I need you okay?' Ash psychically said to Latias. She nodded receiving the message.

"Do they always act like this Brock?" Dawn asked a little apprehensive. Brock nodded, telling her it was their thing. They always fought about something, whether it be big or small. Misty and Ash had gotten into battle positions now, and they looked at Brock expectantly. Pikachu hopped off into the sidelines, not wanting to fight a friend.

"I'll referee," Brock muttered as he took his position. Everyone else sat down to watch the upcoming battle.

"Ladies first! So obviously you don't start," Ash said in a mocking tone.

"Ooooo you're going to regret that!" Misty said as she grabbed her pokeballs. "I choose you! Golduck!"

A blue colored duck appeared, and Misty looked on with pride.

"So Psyduck finally evolved?" Ash asked.

"Yup! And he's a great battler too!" Misty said, extremely pleased. Golduck got in ready position, no longer like the confused Psyduck Ash remembered that suffered from chronic headaches.

"Torterra! I choose you!" Ash said as he threw his pokeball.

"Ready to rock and roll!" Torterra roared as he appeared on the battle field.

Golduck was silent. On the sidelines, Dawn told Piplup to pay attention, telling him that he could learn from this battle because Misty specialized in water pokemon, and Ash was just good to watch overall for battling tips.

"Hydro Pump go!" Golduck obeyed and sent a powerful blast of water at Torterra. Torterra just took the attack and shrugged it off as if it were an annoying flea even though he was part ground.

"Hah, nice try Misty," Ash said mockingly, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Grr! Ice beam go!" Misty ordered. Golduck opened his mouth to fire a freezing beam of ice that would have been devastating to Torterra, but Ash was ready.

"Leaf Storm!" Ash yelled. Torterra launched the extremely dangerous and fast attack at Golduck. Misty knew that the Ice Beam would not be ready and was forced to retreat her attack.

"Golduck! Use Psychic to turn it around!" Misty ordered. Golduck's eyes turned blue as he tried to grab hold of the oncoming grass attack. Torterra's attack briefly turned blue, but it was too powerful and too quick for Golduck to turn around. Golduck was only a water type after all. It was weakened from Golduck's efforts however.

The Leaf Storm rolled into Golduck, but he withstood the attack.

"We're not giving in so easily! Use Surf!" Misty ordered. Golduck summoned a large wave of water and sent it careening towards Torterra.

"Torterra! Use Energy Ball, rapid fire!, to break up that wave!" Ash said. Torterra fired the energy balls at the wave, in hopes of dissipating it. The ball hit the wave but failed to destroy the attack.

"What!" Ash yelled as the wave of water smashed down on Torterra. Torterra grunted, after being pushed back a couple dozen feat. He had not seen, that behind the wave, Misty had given her pokemon a non-verbal signal to amplify the power of the Surf with Psychic.

"Hah! You forget I'm a water pokemon master! If anything I know my water-type attacks!" Misty said in a proud voice. "Use Blizzard!" Golduck prepared to unleash the attack on Torterra that would have surely depleted most if not all of Torterra's remaining stamina. Ice attacks were four times as effective after all.

"Torterra! Use Rock Climb!" Ash said in a desperate attempt to stop the attack. Torterra had something else in mind however. Torterra smashed his front claws into the ground, but instead of Golduck being raised on a platform of rocks, a large fissure moved towards the blue duck. Golduck lost footing and took damage from the attack.

"Woah! What was that!" Ash said as he saw Golduck falter in standing up.

"Torterra learned Earthquake!" Brock said excitedly, ever the source of knowledge for the group. Torterra roared in triumph.

"Great Job Torterra!" Ash said as he gave him a thumbs up. Golduck's breathing was raggedy now, and he wore a look of exhaustion. Misty had no choice at the moment. She really needed to faint Torterra.

"Return! You did a good job. Get a long rest. Gotta admit Ash, that Torterra of yours is really something," Misty complimented.

"Thanks Misty, I'm impressed that Golduck was able to take those attacks," Ash said with a smile, "And that's the first time I've ever hear you compliment your Golduck." Ash laughed at that, remembering how Misty used to yell at Psyduck for being so stupid. Misty giggled as well as she recalled the memories of her Psyduck.

"Well the fun stops now. Gyarados I choose you!" Misty said as the atrocious pokemon made its appearance. Torterra was intimidated and lost some attack power. "Flamethrower!" The giant sea dragon sent its dangerous flames towards Torterra, but Ash was prepared.

"Use Rock Climb to defend yourself!" Ash said as he saw the flames speeding towards the continent pokemon." Torterra raised his front claws and smashed the ground. A mountain of rocks rose out of the ground and effectively blocked the attack. Misty reacted quickly however, predicting that Ash would do that.

"Use Hyper Beam to break that rock and hit Torterra!" Misty said and her pokemon complied. The yellow-orange beam of energy flew from the atrocious pokemon's mouth and smashed into the rocks. The hyper beam, along with the rock fragments hit Torterra with extreme force. Torterra cried out in pain as he was pushed far back. He was close to fainting now.

"Quick! While Gyarados is recharging! Energy Ball!" Ash ordered.

"Dodge It!" Misty ordered, but her pokemon would not be able to comply. Gyarados took all of the damage from powerful energy ball, but he stood tall and still in good health. "Flamethrower!"

"Leaf Storm Torterra!" Ash roared. The two attacks collided with each other resulting in both fighters being engulfed in an explosion. For awhile, the attacks were at a stalemate. Ash and Misty gritted their teeth, frustrated that they hadn't hit their target. Then it happened; the continued pumping of flames from the atrocious pokemon allowed the flames to pool at the bottom of the attack. Gyarados's flamethrower broke through Torterra's Leaf Storm and engulfed the continent pokemon in an intense flame. Ash looked on in horror as he saw his pokemon fall.

"Torterra is unable to battle! Gyarados wins this round!" Brock announced as he did all of the hand signals like a professional ref.

"Yes!" Misty said as she cheered. Ash groaned, but thanked his tired pokemon for doing his best. He knew that his next battler wouldn't let him down though.

"Buizel I choose you!" Ash said as the weasel came out of its ball. It folded its arms in defiance of the intimidate.

"Lets finish this up quickly Gyarados! Use Hydro Pump!" Misty commanded. The giant pokemon complied as it shot a powerful spray of water towards Buizel.

"Buizel, Spin! and use Sonic Boom!" Ash said as he punched the air in confidence. Buizel waited for the last moment and jumped right next to the Hydro Pump, spinning like a football as he went. The extra momentum had propelled him up into Gyarados's face, and he prepared to launch the attack.

"No so fast! Flamethrower!" Misty said, and Gyarados fired off his attack of hot fire. Buizel attacked with Sonic Boom, but neither attack hit their intended target as a large cloud of smoke had resulted.. Buizel, not being able to fly, was falling towards the ground now headfirst.

"Quick! Use Water Pulse! Then inflate your tube as a parachute!" Ash yelled as he watched the pokemon. Buizel shot off the attack through the smoke and inflated his tube as Ash commanded. Ash sighed in relief as he watched him float slowly towards the ground and land safely.

Misty wasn't able to react fast enough and heard the powerful Water Pulse hit Gyarados full in the face and a cloud of mist blocked the view of the damage adding to the smoke.

"Hah! Water attacks won't do you much good here. Gyarados use Hyper Beam to finish this!" Misty said confidently, but no Hyper Beam came. The mist and smoke cleared, and Gyarados was standing there swirly eyed and confused.

"Yes! Great job Buizel! Let's go! Use Aqua Jet to get up to Gyarados's head and then use Ice Punch!" Ash ordered. Buizel rocketed off of the ground towards the atrocious pokemon.

"C'mon Gyarados! Snap out of it!" Misty yelled. Gyarados snapped out of confusion, but he didn't see his opponent anywhere. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on the top of his head, and he was slammed down towards the ground. Dust was kicked up as Gyarados landed on the floor with a loud thud. The dust cleared, revealing a victorious Buizel sitting atop of the enormous water/flying pokemon.

"Gyarados is unable to battle! Buizel wins this round!" Brock told them.

"Awesome Job Buizel! I'm proud of you!" Ash said.

"Thanks Ash!" Buizel said as he gave him a thumbs up. "We still got one more to go." Ash nodded.

Misty recalled the fainted pokemon and thanked him properly for his great fighting.

"Golduck I choose you!" she said.

Misty knew she had lost. Buizel had much more experience battling than Misty's Golduck. Her pokemon, however, put up a long, unexpected fight, able to hold off Buizel for a long time, until Misty had told him to use Ice Beam. That was her biggest mistake. Ash had promptly used his Ice Aqua Jet technique and fainted Golduck in a powerful combination attack that Misty had never seen before.

"Golduck is unable to battle! Buizel and Ash are the winners!" Brock said slowly, fearful of the reaction of Misty.

"Yeah! Great work Buizel!" Ash said as Buizel gave him a thumbs up. "Looks like you won't be learning my secret after all Misty!" He teased again.

"I Don't Think So Ketchum!" Misty shouted as she ran at him with her mallet.

"Ack! Misty! It was part of the deal!" Ash said as he ran for his life.

Brock and everyone else shook their heads in disbelief. Brock decided to just see what would happen. Bianca was busy sketching the battle she had just seen, eager to capture the power and grace of the scene.

"Come back here Ketchum so I can pound your arrogant face in!" Misty said as she brandished her rubber weapon. Ash ran and then in a typical fashion, tripped on a nearby tree root.

"Ahhhh!" Ash screamed as he turned around to shield his face from Misty's imminent attack. It never came; he looked up to see a white and red dragon pokemon holding a barrier around a steaming red head.

'You okay Ash?' Latias asked, as she held the barrier.

"Fine, thanks Latias," Ash said as he got up. Misty was whacking away at the Protect Latias had put up around her, furious.

'Calm down Misty...Ash will tell you. Don't worry about that,' Latias said to Misty psychically. Misty took long, deep breaths as Latias slowly lowered the barrier.

"You should be gateful that Latias saved your butt. You better tell me now Ash if you want to live another five minutes," Misty said as she folded her arms, the mallet still clutched in her right hand.

"Hehe...yeah I should have told you in the first place," Ash said as he rubbed his head.

"Darn right you should have," Misty said, still a bit angry now. "So spill."

"Alright Alright!" Ash said as he held out his hands in surrender, "First thing's first. Latias is my Pokemon now." Latias cooed happily as she nuzzled Ash's face with her own, very pleased that he had said this first. Misty resisted the urge to smack the eon dragon despite the green she was seeing. Latias could sense her emotions and felt a little smug that she could so easily make Misty jealous. The only problem was that it went both ways.

"First thing? What's the other thing? You got a girlfriend? You're engaged?" Misty asked sarcastically, jealousy fueling her mood.

"What? No!" Ash said as he waved his hands in front of him in an attempt to clear the situation.

"What is it then!" Misty said, getting extremely irritated now. Brock, Bianca, Lorenzo, Dawn, Piplup and Pikachu had gone inside now, wanting to get ready for bed and not wanting to hear any more arguing.

"Promise to not freak?" Ash asked seriously. Misty rolled her eyes and promised. "Alright then here it goes." Ash closed his eyes and focused on the energy inside of him, releasing it.

Misty was not sure if she was dreaming or if she had gone crazy. She watched as Ash began to glow and change shape. Then all of a sudden a Black Latios was left in his place.

"WHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" Misty said as she flailed her arms. "Youuu Youu...he...he...it...pokemon...whatttttt!" She would not believe what she had just seen.

'I thought you said you weren't going to freak,' Ash said telepathically; he chuckled to himself. Latias laughed with him, pleased to see Ash as a Latios again.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOURSELF! DID YOU LIKE...YOU KNOW...IT!... WITH LATIAS AND BECOME A POKEMON!" Misty roared, still shocked. Latias immediate turned crimson as scenes began to form in her mind. Her face burned with embarrassment, and Ash's face was the same color as hers.

'NO! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!' he roared back in his mind, trying to fight his blush. He was mortified that Misty had thought he had done... that!

"THEN TELL ME THIS INSTANT!" Misty screamed, "HOW DID YOU BECOME A LATIOS!" Ash sighed as he rubbed the back of his head with his claws.

'It's really long story. I'll tell you inside,' Ash said as he rubbed his temples. He forgot what a pain it could be to have Misty around.

"Well I got time." Misty said as she put her hands on her hips, waiting for an answer.

Ash really didn't want to tell his lengthy story outside, again. He smiled mischievously. Well as mischievous as a Latios could manage.

He moved forward and grabbed Misty from underneath her arms.

"Ack Ash!" Misty shouted as she was lifted off of the ground. Latias laughed as she began to understand what Ash was up too; she had done the same to him the day before. The Black Latios began to laugh as well. "Ash! If you don't let me down this instant! I'll..." She didn't get to finish her threat however because Ash had started speeding towards the house, eager to test out his Latios's form's speed. Latias easily kept up with his speeding form, and they arrived at the house in five seconds flat.

Brock raised his brow as he saw the disheveled water pokemon trainer. Her side ponytail had come undone, and it hung behind her in a suspended state. She blinked a couple of times before she registered what had just happened.

"DON'T EVER EVER EVER DO THAT WITHOUT WARNING ME AGAIN ASH KETCHUM!" Misty said as she whacked Ash in the head many times with her rubber mallet. The sound of rubber impacting flesh rang out through room many times, causing Brock to wince.

Ash sank to the ground as he clutched his throbbing head with his claws. This familiar feeling was not missed at all.

'Ow ow ow Misty did you have to do that' Ash cried out in his mind as he held his head in pain, tears welled up in his eyes but he would not let them fall. Latias cried out as she saw Ash sink to the floor. She flew down to him and nuzzled Ash's face, and her arms encircled the fallen Latios in an attempt to soothe her trainer and secret love. It accomplished this, but in a different way.

Ash felt his face become hot as he felt Latias embracing him and rubbing her face against his. He immediately forgot about his pain. He could feel her body on top of his, and his blush only intensified.

"Whyyyy! Why can't I get a beautiful girl to cuddle me like that!" Brock cried out in despair, effectively killing the moment as he huddled down in a corner. Latias backed away quickly as she realized what she was doing; a dark red crossing her cheeks. Misty's face was livid. It wasn't fair! She never got to cuddle Ash like that...not that she wanted to of course. She resisted the urge to tackle the girl eon dragon and tell her to back off of her Ash.

'WAIT...MY ASH?' Misty thought to herself, thinking she was crazy. She was lucky, at the moment Latias was too embarrassed to be able to pick up on her thoughts, and Ash was in the same state.

"Alright alright that's enough," Lorenzo said, trying to get some peace and quiet. He was starting to look forward to the day they left, it would be peaceful again. Latias wasn't done yet. She was upset that Misty would hurt Ash like that.

'Hey! What's your problem! Why did you have you hit him!' Latias said as she floated closely into Misty's face, a fire in her eyes. Most would be intimidated, but Misty was not one to back down.

"Because he was being a jerk!" Misty said back as she folded her arms in stubbornness. In hindsight she did see that the beating was unnecessary and extreme, but she stuck to her words and actions.

'Apologize!' Latias said, protectiveness overtaking her. If Ash couldn't defend himself, then she would defend him.

Ash was dumbfounded, it was strange for someone to tell Misty what to do. Bianca looked at the eon dragon in surprise, she had never seen her this riled up. Dawn edged away from the two, Piplup in her hands, tying to not get in the way. Pikachu looked back and forth between the two, not sure what to do. Brock was still down in his corner lamenting his bad fortune in the ways of girls. Then Ash spoke up.

'It's okay Latias. She doesn't mean to hurt me. It's just her way of interacting and expressing herself,' Ash supplied. Pikachu agreed as he checked up on his best friend. He decided that he had left at a bad time. He should have known they would fight. A good Thundershock usually stopped it though, but he wondered if it would be that effective now, seeing as Ash was part dragon-type.

"I don't care! She should still say sorry!" Latias said in pokespeech, her voice firm and uncompromising. She was not going to let Misty get away with this. She was supposed to be his best friend; best friends shouldn't hurt each other. Misty might not have understood pokespeech perfectly, but she could understand that tone.

Ash sighed and decided to change back into his human form. Misty wore a look of surprise; she had forgotten he could change. Then she remembered that he was going to tell her how it had happened. But she still had a protective legendary staring her down.

"Alright alright...I'm sorry," Misty said really quietly. Ash rolled his eyes, still being able to hear her due to his new powers. Latias nodded and floated back, but still feeling a little protective.

"Wow. This is really the first time I've ever heard you say that to me," Ash said with a provoking smirk. Pikachu sweatdropped, knowing that a resulting fight would be very likely.

"Don't push your luck Ketchum," Misty growled, still a bit peeved, "Now tell me how you became a black Latios." Misty exclaimed, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Alright alright calm down jeez," Ash said as he took a seat. Pikachu decided to take up his usual post and sat on his shoulder. Brock, Bianca, Dawn, Piplup and Lorenzo were tired of hearing the story again so they went to bed. Latias decided to stick around, just to make sure that Ash wouldn't be assaulted again. Being around him was a plus too.

So Ash told his extremely complicated and long tale of how he arrived and how he had visited the garden and how he had grabbed the orb. He explained what happened inside of the orb, and what had happened to Latios. Misty's eyes widened at this explanation.

It was getting late now because Misty kept on asking questions and wanting more details. Latias was tiring and took on her human form in an effort to save energy. She sat down next to Ash and leaned her head on his left shoulder to sleep. Pikachu was sleeping on his right shoulder already. Misty twitched at the scene, her hands becoming tense in her lap. Ash, dense as usual, pressed on telling her the story.

"And that's how I became a Latios," Ash said with a tired voice. He wished he could just project his memories like the sight-sharing Latios used to do. He made a mental note to ask Latias if he could. Telling the same story over and over again was not a very exciting thing to do. He yawned, noticing it was well past midnight. "I think its time we got to sleep Misty." His eyes were half-mast now, dutifully trying to stay upright until blissful sleep.

"Yeah, But I'm still not done with you yet," Misty said playfully with a hint of seriousness as she stood up to go to bed also. It had been a long day for the both of them, and tomorrow they would need all of their strength to participate in the race. Ash slowly go up and attempted to wake up Latias. He was unsuccessful as she clung to his shoulder fiercely not wishing to give up the comfortable position.

Ash sighed. He slowly wrapped her arms around her and picked her up bridal style. Pikachu blinked, his eyes opened, feeling the movement underneath him and jumped off of his trainer's shoulder. Misty raised her brow at the scene.

"When did you become so strong huh?" she asked curiously, admiring his new-found strength. Ash shrugged, not really sure how to explain it.

"Probably because I have the powers of a legendary pokemon now," Ash said nonchalantly, he was trying not to wake Latias. Misty sighed, she so desperately wished that it was her in those strong, gentle, caring arms of his. They walked up the stairs, Pikachu running alongside Ash.

They faced each other one more time before going into their respective rooms.

"Goodnight Ash. It really is great to see you again," Misty said with a smile.

"Same here. It's great that your here. I've missed you," Ash said, a light pink invading his face. Misty flushed, happy that he had missed her as well. She waved a goodnight to him, and Ash nodded as he went further down the hall.

"Any idea where Latias sleeps Pikachu," Ash asked, completely unsure of where she usually slept.

"Uhhhh no..." Pikachu responded. Ash sighed, he really wanted to get some sleep.

"Leaves me no choice then," Ash said as he walked into his room. He laid the female eon dragon onto his bed and tucked her in, making sure she was comfortable.

"Awww that's so nice Ash. Giving up your bed for a girl," Pikachu said with a sly, provoking tone. Ash's cheeks became as red as the dots on Pikachu's face.

"Shut it Pikachu. I'm not gonna make her sleep on the floor," he said, trying to give a reason for him being so nice.

"Sure sure Ash," Pikachu said with an amused tone, dropping the subject. He decided he had teased his best friend enough for the day. Ash came back after taking a shower and laid out his sleeping bag on the carpeted floor. Pikachu hopped in with Ash, not wanting to miss out on having a warm place to sleep.

"Night Pikachu. Night Latias," Pikachu 'chued' in response.

On the bed next to him, Latias smiled a blissful smile.

_Goodnight Ash._

* * *

My fluff-o-meter was so high during this chapter. The interaction between Misty X Ash X Latias is just an invitation for fun. I had trouble including everyone in this chapter as it was mainly centered around Latias, Misty and Ash. Anyways tell me what you think.

A/N Even though it may seem I'm a little harsh on Misty to some of those die-hard pokeshippers and disfavoring her, I guarantee that I love her character also! This is just how I think Latias would react and etc.

Thanks for reading and please review!

-Mekon


	5. Ch4: A Tour De Alto Mare!

**DISCLAIMER**

If my ownership was a pokemon, it would be level 0.

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare and visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero that could decide the fate of the world. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

"_Any idea where Latias sleeps Pikachu?" Ash asked, completely unsure of where she usually slept._

"_Uhhhh no..." Pikachu responded. Ash sighed, he really wanted to get some sleep._

"_Leaves me no choice then," Ash said as he walked into his room. He laid the female eon dragon onto his bed and tucked her in._

"_Awww that's so nice Ash. Giving up your bed for a girl," Pikachu said with a sly, provoking tone. Ash's cheeks became as red as the dots on Pikachu's face. _

"_Shut it Pikachu. I'm not gonna make her sleep on the floor," he said, trying to give a reason for him being so nice._

"_Sure sure Ash," Pikachu said, dropping the subject. He decided he had teased his best friend enough for the day. Ash came back after taking a shower and laid out his sleeping bag on the carpeted floor. __Pikachu hopped in with Ash, not wanting to miss out on having a warm place to sleep._

"_Night Pikachu. Night Latias," Pikachu 'chued' in response._

_On the bed next to him, Latias smiled a blissful smile._

_Goodnight Ash. _

* * *

Ch4: A Tour De Alto Mare!

**Latias looked into the dark brown eyes of her love, and she heard him say those three words that would forever make her complete.**

"**I love you," he said as he enveloped her in a passion-filled kiss that contained all of his longing and love. **

**Latias melted as she felt his lips upon hers and she reciprocated the kiss with an equal fervor.**

"**Ash I lo..."**

"Latias, wake up," a voice said, stirring her from her blissful dream. Latias slowly opened her eyes to find herself staring into those same brown eyes she had been dreaming about. She instantly covered her face with the blankets to prevent him from seeing her fierce blush.

"Hey. What's up Tia?" Ash asked with a worried look. Latias blushed harder under the blanket as she heard the nickname he had given her. It was not helping that the entire bed and room smelled exactly like the trainer worrying over here.

"I'm...f..fine Ash," Latias stammered as she tried to cool herself down. The scents, mixed with Ash's worry and her passionate dream were doing funny things to her head.

"Alright then Latias, everyone's downstairs eating already, the race is in two hours," Ash said as he left his room and closed the door. Latias sighed in relief. She laid in Ash's bed for awhile just taking in the scent and reveling in it. She was still on a high from the dream she had been pulled from. It had been so clear, so real and yet so far away.

What puzzled her was how she had gotten into his bed in the first place and where had Ash slept then. She spied the sleeping bag in the corner, and that answered her second question. But the first question was the most important to her. She decided to find out for herself. Latias walked over to the mirror, happy that she had put enough psychic energy in reserve last night to preserve her human appearance. She reminded herself that she had to teach Ash that. She fixed her hair a bit and went downstairs to meet up with everyone else.

The breakfast room was busy with activity. Dawn was going over her plan with Piplup who was listening intently. Misty was giving a prep-talk to Corsola who was bouncing happily in her lap. Brock was busy chatting away with Bianca and Lorenzo about the local pokemon and their habits. Ash was busy stuffing his face as usual, and Pikachu was conversing with Buizel, telling him about Corsola's strengths and weaknesses.

'Morning!' Latias chirped. Everyone greeted her a good morning. 'So is everyone ready for the race today.' Determined yeahs, 'buis', 'solas' and others confirmed her.

"Yeah I'm totally winning today! Right Buizel?" Ash said with confidence as he looked towards Buizel expectantly. Buizel folded his arms in a stance that said. 'Do you really have to ask?'

"Don't get your hopes up Mr. Pokemon Master," Misty said teasingly and Corsola jumped up and down happily.

"Hey don't forget about us! You gotta beat us too!" Dawn said with determination, Piplup emulating her every single movement. Then tension in the room rose, before someone made it come crashing down.

"If you guys fight again while we're here, I'm never cooking for you guys again," Brock said rubbing his throbbing temples. They instantly quieted, not wanting to not ever have Brock's cooking ever again.

'We'll I could just threaten you to cook for us again by saying if you don't I'll never let you talk to a girl ever again. Especially! if they are beautiful,' Latias said in a mischievous voice.

"NOO! Anything but that!" Brock lamented as he begged the eon dragon pokemon. Latias laughed. It was so easy to manipulate him. Just mention the word 'girl' and 'beautiful', and he would do anything you say.

Latias sat down and began eating breakfast.

"Oh! By the way. Ash how did I end up in your bed?" Latias asked innocently. A wolf whistle could be heard from Brock as he elbowed the young trainer. Ash lightly turned pink.

"Why didn't you tell me you were with Latias Ash?" Brock asked, he was so jealous. He couldn't even get a date from a girl.

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT!" Ash exclaimed, now fully red in the face. "I just carried her upstairs after she fell asleep on my shoulder." Why is it that everyone assumed he had done something with Latias! Latias blushed also at the suggestion that Brock had made. This was the second time already that someone thought that she had been with Ash. Although it wasn't an unappealing idea to her, it was extremely embarrassing to be voiced from others.

Misty whacked Brock in the head for being such a pervert.

"Ash was just being nice. He carried her after we finished talking last night," Misty added, confirming Ash's story, albeit not knowing about the last part. Ash nodded. Latias felt a warm heat fill her heart as she heard this.

Bianca giggled to herself quietly. She knew exactly what Latias was feeling happy about. She had seen it herself, but she would keep that secret to herself for now.

"Oh! It's almost time for the race!" Misty said as she noticed the clock. It would begin in thirty-five minutes, and they all needed to head over there to check-in and prepare.

"Lets go!" Ash said as the entire group left the house.

* * *

It hadn't taken long for them to check-in. Ash, Misty and Dawn took their respective places on their water chariots. All of their pokemon were primed and ready to go. There were other pokemon trainers there also, including the reigning champ before Misty.

"Areeeeee You Ready for the Annual Tour De Alto Mare Ladies, Gentlemen and Pokemon!" An announcer said into the mic. He was greeted by cheers, growls, howls, chirps, and all sorts of other excited voices. The announcer went around introducing and re-welcoming each of the competitors.

"Now please pass up your pokeballs that you are not using for the race. This will ensure fairness in the competition," the announcer said. Each trainer put their balls on the table, in plain sight. Ash was reluctant to relinquish his precious pokemon, and Misty felt the same.

* * *

Meanwhile.

"hehehe! This will be great!" a feminine voice snickered.

"There's no way that we can fail this time!" a male voice said with a maniacal laugh.

"Ya know wat dey say. If you ain't good at fishin, let the fish come to you!" a cat-like voice said with a laugh. "We'll get sometin to give to da boss today!"

* * *

"Can Misty Waterflower of Cerulean city defend her title this year folks? Or will a new champ be crowned?" The announcer asked the crowd. Their response was a large uproar of cheers and boos, but mainly cheers. "That's the spirit! Alright! Racers get ready! Pokemon get ready! This will be a ten-lap race!"

Ash, Misty, and Dawn clutched their handles in anticipation. Buizel, Corsola, and Piplup were ready to rocket out of the starting position at any moment. Brock, Pikachu, Lorenzo and Bianca were on the sidelines, cheering for their friends.

"Uhhh Where's Latias?" Bianca asked looking around. Brock and Lorenzo shrugged. Pikachu cocked his head to the side, showing that he had no idea either.

"I'm sure wherever she is, she's watching," Lorenzo assured as he returned his eyes to the screen. Bianca nodded, deciding not to worry about it at the moment.

"On your Mark!" The announcer yelled, "Get set! Go!" The racers rocketed out of the starting position. The race had begun.

* * *

After nine laps had passed, only Misty, Ash and Dawn were in for the first place. They had easily left the others behind in the water.

"Get ready to lose Misty!" Ash yelled as he urged on Buizel. Buizel rocketed forward, taking full use of his Swift Swim ability.

"Oh no you don't!" Misty said and encouraged her Corsola. Corsola shot forward in an effort to match Buizel's speed.

"Let's get going Piplup!" Dawn shouted. She really wanted to win, and Piplup was determined to win it for his trainer. He increased his speed as well, barely able to keep up with Buizel and Corsola.

They rounded a sharp corner. Ash struggled to stay on his water chariot; Misty and Dawn were having the same problem. Then in extreme bad luck, Piplup smashed into a nearby swimming Chinchou. The startled Chinchou had let off a paralyzing Thunder Wave attack that zapped Piplup, paralyzing him.

"Ahh!" Dawn screamed as she was vaulted forward as the vehicle lost momentum so quickly. She closed her eyes as she saw herself approaching the wall.

"Dawn!" both of the trainers shouted as they watched her speed towards the brick wall.

But what Dawn felt wasn't a cold, hard, brick wall. It was soft, feathery almost. She looked up and saw the eyes of the girl eon dragon.

"Great Job Latias!" Ash said as he sped away, tailing Misty all of the way. Latias had tagged along, invisible, to make sure none of them would get hurt like Ash almost did last time.

"Thanks a lot Latias," Dawn said in relief as Latias lowered her onto the floor.

'Don't mention it.' Latias said as she resumed her invisibility.

"Piplup! Can you move still?" Dawn asked the floating paralyzed pokemon. She could hear the other racers approaching.

"Pip..piplup! (Maybe a move or two!)" Piplup said, not very comfortable at the moment. Latias translated and, Dawn nodded.

"Alight! Use Hydro Pump right into the air! Then follow it up with Bide!" Dawn commanded. Latias watched with a confused look. What was she planning? Piplup shot the powerful water attack into the air, and it came back down at him. He activated Bide, taking the full brunt of his attack. He sprang up into the air, the added power breaking the paralysis.

"Alright! Great Job Piplup!" Dawn said as she hopped onto her water chariot. "Let's catch up! Go!" Piplup didn't need any more incentive.

* * *

Misty and Ash were on the last leg of the race now. Their pokemon neck and neck and vying for the position of dominant water pokemon.

"C'mon Buizel! It that all you got!" Ash said provoking the weasel pokemon. Buizel gritted his teeth. He wanted to show Ash that he was a great and powerful water pokemon. Not that Ash needed convincing of course, but Buizel would not allow himself to loose.

"I'm counting on you Corsola! Don't let me down!" Misty shouted above the rushing wind. Corsola had the same wishes as Buizel and adjusted herself accordingly.

There was one turn right onto the straightaway.

"HERE COME THE TWO FINALISTS NOW!" The announcer informed the crowd, and the crowd roared in excitement. "Looks like a neck and neck battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and Misty Waterflower of Cerulean City!" The crowd cheered as they watched the screen.

From the sidelines, Brock, Bianca, Pikachu, and Lorenzo cheered, happy that at least one of their friends would get first place.

"Another racer is approaching! It's Dawn of Twinleaf Town!" The announcer said, eliciting another reaction from the heated crowd.

"This is great. If they all win, that means we would have swept the competition." Brock said as he eyed the screen showing his three friends.

Only about a hundred meters were left to the turn, and Ash and Misty were still even. Then it happened.

A huge net appeared right in front of Corsola and Buizel. Corsola, unable to stop, smashed into the net. Buizel, with a split-second reaction time, inflated his species's signature collar and stopped in half a second.

"AHHH!" Misty yelled as she was thrown forward into the water. The crowd had no idea what had happened, the angle at which they had stopped, hid Misty and Ash from view.

"Do I hear the sound of a screaming twerp in the sea?" the female asked.

"The sound of her splutters and coughs convinces me!" the male said.

Ash groaned. Not again...

"On the sidelines!" Jessie said.

"With a net!" James

"Not getting wet!" Meowth said.

"Nabbing water-pokemon at a breakneck pace!" Jessie replied.

"Getting rich and putting fear in its place!" the blue-haired rocket answered.

"Jessie!" Jessie announced.

"And It's James!" James said.

"And Meowth, now dat's a name!" Meowth said as he spun between the two.

"Making sure that no one wins this race!" Jessie exclaimed as she twirled.

"We're Team Rocket!" James followed up, as he held Corsola in his net.

"and we're in your face!" Meowth said as he lifted both of his paws.

"Wobbuffet!" the strange blue pokemon added as he popped out of his ball.

"Not you guys again!" Ash exclaimed. "Don't you guys get old of getting beaten and blasted off over and over and over again?" Misty had resurfaced now, figuring out what had happened.

"Hmmm a bit," Jessie said as she put a finger to her cheek in thought, "But this time, we'll win!" She regained her confidence easily.

"Give me back my Corsola!" Misty screamed at them from the water.

"Hey! It's the red-head twoip!" Meowth said with glee. "So ya finally reunited with ya long lost love huh twoip." Meowth smiled a maliciously wicked smile at the jest.

"Oh I can see it now!" Jessie said as she clutched her hands together. "Two lovers! Separated by fate, bound by love and trust, they wait for each other until their fateful day of reunion where they declare their undying love for each other!" Jessie swooned. James and Meowth face-faulted at their companions proneness to distraction. "But I thought you were with the auburn hair twerp now."

"I see da makins of a love triangle here!" Meowth said with a snicker.

"THAT'S IT!" Misty said, furious, embarrassed and jealous. Furious because they took Corsola, embarrassed because of the scenario they depicted between her and Ash, and jealous because she knew exactly who the "auburn hair twerp" was. If Jessie had seen Misty's feelings for Ash, such a long time ago, so easily, who's to say she didn't see feelings that Latias held for him too? She scrambled to get out of the water quickly.

"What you gonna do twoip. You ain't got no other pokemon!" Meowth said with glee.

"Then I'll battle for her!" Ash said as he and Buizel hopped out of the water. "Buizel use Water Gun!" The attack soared towards

"Lets go! Seviper! Use Poison Tail and spin it!" Jessie ordered. Seviper spun his tail in a circle quickly as it turned purple with poison energy. The attack hit Seviper, but it was effectively blocked. Jessie had adapted Dawn's spinning technique because it worked so well, and said Team Rocket member cackled in triumph. James and Meowth were busy trying to get away at this point.

"You got no chance of winning now Twerp. You're pokemon's exhausted and tired from racing. Now we gotta chance because you only got one pokemon!" Jessie exclaimed in glee. Ash silently agreed. He could visibly see Buizel wavering. What was he gonna do?

Then he felt that calming presence and knew he was safe.

"Hah, I don't got only one pokemon on me," Ash said with a satisfied smile.

"What are you talking about twerp! We saw the announcer take all of your pokeballs!" Jessie exclaimed angrily. Leave it to the twerp to be prepared.

"True true. But my extra-special pokemon doesn't like pokeballs, just like Pikachu," Ash said. "Latias! I choose you!"

Next to Ash, there seemed to be a warp in space as Latias revealed herself dramatically in a blue flash of light. Latias cooed in excitement. This would be her very first real battle.

"WHAAAAAAATTTTT. This is so unfair!" Jessie exclaimed as she saw the pokemon Ash had called out.

"Yup! And You're going down!" Ash replied confidently. "Buizel sit this one out. I'll need you to finish this race." Buizel nodded as he stood back, eager to watch the legendary's battle.

Meanwhile, they were battling. Misty had followed Meowth and James.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!" Misty screamed, a fire in her eyes.

"AHHH!" James shrieked as he hid behind Meowth. Meowth stood there calmly, albeit stupidly. He had no idea what he was in for.

"Hey! What gives Twerpette! You ain't go no means to sto..." Meowth was cut off from a painful whack on his noggin. James was down on the ground too, swirly eyed and knocked out. "Oww...Who taught the Twerpette Hammer Arm..."

"Serves you right," Misty said as she folded her arms, her infamous rubber mallet in her hands.

"Corsola!" Corsola cried out as it jumped into the waiting arms of her trainer.

"I was soo worried!" Misty said as she hugged the pink pokemon. Meowth and James were coming round now.

"Hey! You can't steal from us! We are supposed to steal from you!" James said. Misty gave him another dark look.

"Yikes! I think she knows how to use Mean Look! This calls for Plan B!" Meowth said as he scrambled towards Jessie for reinforcements. They screamed all the way towards the crimson-haired member of Team Rocket.

* * *

Meanwhile!

"Grr! It doesn't matter if you have a legendary or not twerp, I'll beat you and then steal it! Jessie said angrily, obviously not aware that she was facing a psychic type with a poison type. "Seviper! Use Poison Tail!" Seviper complied and launched himself at the legendary pokemon.

"Alright Latias. Use Dragonbreath!" Ash said, eager to see how powerful Latias was. Latias let off a enormous stream of deadly fire at the Poison Fang pokemon. She wanted to impress Ash as well.

The deadly fire hit the snake and it flew back, losing health in the process.

"C'mon Seviper! Use Poison Tail again!" Jessie said. Using it's snake-like agility it sprang at Latias. But this time, it's tail didn't glow pink. It glowed a red color, and the attack smashed into Latias, doing super-effective damage.

"What!" Ash exclaimed, he had never seen Seviper use that attack before and it looked powerful.

'Ouch. That really hurt. That was Night Slash. Its a dark type move and it was super-effective.' Latias said with pain.

"Yay! Great Job Seviper! Lets go again! Use whatever attack that was again!" Jessie said, not knowing what it really was. Seviper complied and started to attack again with his Night Slash attack.

"Quick! Latias use Psychic on Seviper and smash him into the ground!" Ash said desperately. If Seviper got another Night Slash attack off, Latias could faint.

Seviper became surrounded in a blue glow as he squirmed and flailed in the air. Latias then took great pleasure in smashing him into the ground repeatedly as payback for the last attack. Seviper still hung on however.

"Grr! Haze Seviper! Then use that last attack while their blinded!" Jessie said, beginning to call upon her contest battle skills. Seviper's mouth opened and black smoke began to cover the battle area. They could hear Seviper yell as he jumped, ready to strike Latias and bring her down.

'Latias! Do something!' Ash thought, as he coughed and choked from the black smoke. Latias easily heard him and flew up into the air.

'Got it covered Ash,' Latias said. She formed the attack in her claws waiting. Suddenly, Seviper rocketed out of the smoke and raised his tail to attack. 'This will teach you.' She fired. The ball of her attack hit Seviper and, he plummeted towards the ground in surprise. The attack stayed on him, increasing his speed and his impending doom. Then, a loud smash echoed around them as Seviper hit the ground, but Latias was not done attacking yet. The ball of energy exploded on Seviper, effectively scattering the Haze and knocking him out.

"Wahhh!" Jessie screamed as she saw Seviper in a crater, surrounded by a blue mist.

'What was that!' Ash asked her in his mind, amazed at the power that Latias had just exhibited.

'Mist Ball, MY signature attack,' Latias said, pleased that she had won and that she had successfully impressed her trainer.

The sounds of screaming approached as James and Meowth ran from a rabid Misty.

"COME BACK HERE SO I CAN POUND YOUR MISERABLE FACES IN!" Misty said angrily waving her mallet. Corsola hopped along, hoping to be able to pay back Team Rocket for making them stop the race.

"JESSIE! Help!" Meowth and James shouted. Then in a Team Rocket-like fashion, they tripped and smashed into the remaining member.

"Hey! Misty you got Corsola back!" Ash said happily. Misty nodded, but was ready to blast off team rocket, just like old times.

"Alright ready for this one Latias?" Ash asked. Latias cooed in delight. Being with Ash was just so exciting.

"Lets go! Mist Ball! Buizel Use Water Pulse!" Ash said as he prepared too. Misty told Corsola to use Flash Canon on the fallen thieves. The attacks raced towards the fallen Trio, but there were four, not three, attacks heading towards them. The explosion sent them 'blasting off again' as usual.

"What was with the four attacks?" Misty asked. She had only counted three pokemon attacking.

"That was my Aura Sphere." Ash said indifferently. Misty was about to question him more, but then heard the tell-tale signs of splashing water.

"Ash! The Race!" Misty said as she heard the approaching racers. Ash nodded.

"Lets go! Buizel! We got a race to win!" Ash said enthusiastically. Latias cooed as she turned invisible for the last stretch of the race.

"Not if I can say anything about it!" Misty said as she hopped on with a ready Corsola. They rocketed out and turned right.

"HERE! COME THE FIRST TWO RACERS! MISTY WATERFLOWER OF CERULEAN CITY AND ASH KETCHUM OF PALLET TOWN! BOTH FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY DAWN OF TWINLEAF TOWN!" The announcer said. It was getting exciting.

"Hey! What happened to you two!" Dawn asked from behind them. Ash replied with a short 'Team Rocket' Dawn nodded in understanding.

"ONLY ONE HUNDRED METERS LEFT IN THIS RACE! WHO WILL WIN IT!" the man said into the mic. The crowd was roaring and cheering hard now.

Corsola and Buizel were at it again. Both were extremely tired and worn out, but they wanted their trainers to win. Suddenly, Corsola felt a tug on her line. She looked at Misty and read the signal. She wondered why her trainer was telling her to slow down, but Corsola didn't question it.

Buizel noticed that Corsola had fallen behind, but paid no mind to it. He just focused on winning the race.

The places were now: Ash in first. Misty in second and Dawn in third. Brock 'hmmed' as he noticed Misty fall behind. Bianca, Pikachu and Lorenzo were watching, just cheering for whomever won out of their friends.

Ash could see the finish line and he urged Buizel for just a little bit longer. Then he crossed it.

"WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION!" The man said, and the crowd roared. Some were mourning the loss of Misty, but some were eager to welcome a new champ. "And now we have second place for Misty and third place for Dawn!" More cheers erupted.

"Great Job Buizel!" Ash said as Buizel hopped out of the water.

"Thanks," Buizel said, really tired now. Misty and Dawn thanked their respective racing pokemon as well.

"Will the winners please take their places on the podium to receive their award!" the announcer said. Ash took the top podium, Misty the second and Dawn the bronze. They were each handed medals to show that they had won.

"Congratulations! This concludes this year's Tour De Alto Mare! Please join us next year for another exciting race!" the man said finally closing the event.

Brock, Pikachu, Bianca and Lorenzo went over to congratulate their friends for winning and doing so well.

"Where's Latias?" Bianca asked for the second time that day.

"Right above us." Ash said, he had started noticing that he could more easily sense her and others now. It was also starting to get a lot easier to telepathically commune with her now. "She's invisible at the moment of course."

'Yup!' Latias said as she flew closer to Bianca to show that she was indeed there. Bianca laughed. She should have known that she would watch it actively.

The race had lasted until about one, so Brock suggested that they go eat at a nearby restaurant. Ash jumped at the chance to go eat, telling everybody to hurry it up. Misty, Brock, Pikachu, Dawn, Bianca, Lorenzo and Latias all laughed at the boy, one because he was so eager to eat and two, he was going the wrong way! Ash rubbed the back of his head embarrassingly when they told them this, chuckling to himself.

It had been an exciting day for our intrepid heroes, but even more excitement lay just over the horizon, waiting for them to stumble upon it.

* * *

Way off somewhere.

A man in a black suit was strolling along an unmarked trail, a sleek Persian by his side.

"It's been awhile since we did anything together hasn't it Persian?" the man asked the feline. The cat purred in response.

They followed the trail into the treeline of a forest, unaware of where they were truly headed. Then the cat moved towards something that caught his eye.

"What is it Persian?" the man asked. The Persian didn't answer as the cat moved stealthily towards what had caught his attention. Out of nowhere, a pack of pokemon moved to block their way. The pack consisted of Vigoroths, Raticates, Eevees and a monstrous Ursaring.

"What is this!" The man said as he back away slowly. The Persian growled. He would get to what he was searching for. "You'll pay for standing in my way!" He threw his pokeball and a large Rhydon appeared. It grunted at the sight of so many weak pokemon.

"Rhydon! Use Hyper Beam!" he ordered and the large pokemon complied. The yellowish-orange beam connected with the ground and exploded. All of the pokemon, except for the Ursaring were knocked out.

The Ursaring roared at the sight of his friends falling. It rushed forward to attack, raiseing his claws with a Slash attack.

"Use Megahorn" the man said confidently. The glowing horn of the Ryhdon connected with the Slash attack, but it did not work out as the man intended. Ursaring's attack easily plowed through the Megahorn attack and forced back Rhydon. Ursaring didn't stop there it raised it's arms for a Brick Break attack.

"Quickly use Hammer Arm to defeat this lousy Usraring now!" the man commanded. The tired Ryhorn raised his arm and struck at the hibernating pokemon. Both attacks connected and caused both combatants to fly backwards and faint.

"Hmmph, you could have done better." The man said as he returned his fainted Ryhorn. Persian purred at the sight of the clear road and continued forward.

"What in here Persian?" the man asked as he followed the feline deeper into the grove. More pokemon attacked many times, but the man was able to defeat them all, fainting his entire team, except for Persian.

Finally, they reached the end of the trail. There was a tree that towered over them, stretching on for a long way. What caught the man's eye was a grayish-brown jewel that was lodged into the trunk of the tree. He reached forward and grasped it, pulling hard on it. After many strenuous attempts, he decided that he couldn't pull it out. Persian waited for his master to finish his trying. The man frowned as he walked back from the tree, arms folded.

Persian decided that it was time to do it himself. The man eyed the graceful cat closely as he approached the jewel. The cat placed his mouth around the jewel and effortlessly pulled it out.

"What..." he said, with large eyes. How is it that for him, it would not even budge, but for Persian it just popped out? The feline moved towards his trainer and placed the jewel in his hands. "What is this thing?" He eyed the strangely-colored jewel in his hands. The cat still did not answer and walked over to a nearby tree.

"What are you doing Persian?" the man asked, infuriated that his pokemon would not answer. The cat looked a the tree and crouched. The cat then attacked, his claws glowing white with power. The man looked on with amazed eyes, lo and behold, the tree had be sliced into four pieces. He wondered how this was possible; Fury Swipes was not nearly powerful enough to destroy a strong tree like that, especially not in one hit. Unless...it had something to do with the crystalline sphere he held in his hands.

"Hmmm..I believe I have found a new answer to my problem of world domination." the man said as a wicked laugh echoed through the forest.

* * *

Whew. That was some intense stuff. More exciting stuff coming soon!

Some light pokeshipping action in here. Lots of Altoshipping as usual, and a nice big advance in the plot.

Now be patient! Explanations will be coming in later chapters!

Thanks for reading and please review!

-Mekon


	6. Ch5: Rocking the Boat

**DISCLAIMER**

No save data could be found on the file - ownership

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

"_Will the winners please take their places on the podium to receive their award!" the announcer said. Ash took the top podium, Misty the second and Dawn the bronze. They were each handed medals to show that they had won. _

"_Congratulations! This concludes this year's Tour De Alto Mare! Please join us next year for another exciting race!" the man said finally closing the event. _

_Brock, Pikachu, Bianca and Lorenzo went over to congratulate their friends for winning and doing so well. _

"_Where's Latias?" Bianca asked for the second time that day._

"_Right above us." Ash said, he had started noticing that he could more easily sense her and others now. It was also starting to get a lot easier to telepathically commune with her now. "She's invisible at the moment of course." _

_'Yup!' Latias said as she flew closer to Bianca to show that she was indeed there. Bianca laughed. She should have known that she would watch it actively. _

_The race had lasted until about one. So Brock suggested that they go eat at a nearby restaurant. Ash leaped at the chance to go eat, telling everybody to hurry it up. Misty, Brock, Pikachu, Dawn, Bianca, Lorenzo and Latias all laughed at the boy, one because he was so eager to eat and two, he was going the wrong way! Ash rubbed the back of his head embarrassingly when they told them this, chuckling to himself. _

_It had been an exciting day for our intrepid heroes, but even more excitement lay just over the horizon._

* * *

_Way off somewhere._

_0-0-0-0-0-0_

_Persian decided that it was time to do it himself. The man eyed the graceful cat closely as he approached the jewel. The cat placed his mouth around the jewel and effortlessly pulled it out._

"_What..." he said, with large eyes. How is it that for him, it would not even budge, but for Persian it just popped out? The feline moved towards his trainer and placed the jewel in his hands. "What is this thing?" He eyed the strangely-colored jewel in his hands. The cat still did not answer and walked over to a nearby tree. _

"_What are you doing Persian?" the man asked, infuriated that his pokemon would not answer. The cat looked a the tree and crouched. The cat then attacked, his claws glowing white. The man looked on with amazed eyes, lo and behold, the tree had be sliced into four pieces. He wondered how this was possible; Fury Swipes was not nearly powerful enough to destroy a strong tree like that, especially not in one hit. Unless...it had something to do with the crystalline sphere he held in his hands._

"_Hmmm..I believe I have found a new answer to my problem of world domination," the man said as a wicked laugh echoed through the forest._

* * *

Ch5: Rocking the Boat

Lunch had been great,leaving everyone full and extremely satisfied. But soon, it was time for Ash and his friends and Latias to leave Altomare.

The loud booms of the cruise ship rang out around the harbor, beckoning for last minute passengers to board, lest they be left behind. All around them, the warm glow of the afternoon sun was slowly receding.

They all stood at the ramp, saying their last goodbyes.

"Now you better treat her right, or else you'll hear from me," Bianca said, directing it towards Latias' new trainer. Lorenzo nodded in agreement. Latias was a part of their family. They would go through any means necessary to do anything for her. Latias instead of Ash answered the worried girl however.

'Don't worry Bianca. I trust Ash. He always tries his best He would never do anything bad.' Latias responded for her trainer. Ash gave a curt nod in confirmation, a appreciate smile appearing on his face.

"We know, but we can't help but feel protective, Latias. You are a part of our family. Don't ever hesitate to come and visit us, and you, your friends included, will always be welcome here," Lorenzo said. It felt like he was sending off his own daughter, and his heart clenched with happiness and worry. But, he knew that she was in the best hands.

Latias nodded as her eyes filled with tears. It's not an easy thing; to leave the safety and comfort of one's own home and brave the challenges and hardships of the real world. She let the tears fall as she came forward to embrace what was her family. Ash and his friends decided to give her a moment, saying that they would wait upstairs on the boat.

She stayed in their embrace for a long time, but knew she had to break apart and did so.

'I'll miss you both so much," Latias said as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"This won't be the last time we see each other Latias. We will see you again someday," Lorenzo finished. Latias gave a shaky nod and turned to board the boat.

"Wait!" Bianca cried out as she fumbled around in her bag she wore. She extracted a few rolls of paper, her sketch pad and some drawing pencils. "I want you to have these. I've finished some, but I want you to finish it. Draw the things I won't be able to experience and see with my own eyes. I want you to fill it up and show me next time you come back." Latias' arm quivered weakly as she gripped the favorite sketchbook and finished paintings, promising to do her best. She gave her best friend another tearful hug before boarding the boat.

Lorenzo and Bianca stayed on the dock, waving goodbye to Latias until the ship was well out of sight and the boat's shadow sank into the horizon.

* * *

Ash patiently awaited for Latias to come upstairs. She arrived, holding some art supplies and soft tears leaking from her eyes.

Ash looked at her in sympathy. He knew what it was like to leave your home and family. Sure he seemed confident and ecstatic to leave back then, but as time passed, he knew that it was all a facade. He had been lonely. A single child forced to befriend those few who lived in his hometown of Pallet. Sure Gary had changed, but back then, Ash hated just seeing him. But what other choice did he have for companionship back then? Loneliness, for Ash, had truly ended when he had found a friend in Pikachu, Misty and Brock. Once he knew he had friends, Ash was able to move on and brave the journey, meeting others and making new friends. He didn't want Latias to feel so sad and alone, which is what he was sure she was experiencing at the moment. She needed them now.

Misty, Brock and Dawn could see it too. Misty had left home, alone, on a mission to prove her worth. Brock, a forced parent, left alone to do his father's and mother's jobs for a long time, knew what sadness she felt. Dawn, a beginner trainer who had little to no confidence at the start, was sure that if Ash could help her, he could help Latias. Pikachu hopped off of Misty's shoulder and looked at Latias, communicating silently that she was going to be okay because Ash would do anything to make her feel better.

Ash moved forward and embraced the sad eon, just wishing to take away her sorrow. The others walked away, wishing to give them space. Not even Misty wanted to interfere. Pikachu followed Misty, wanting to give Ash room to console the saddened legendary.

"Hey..." Ash cooed, "Everything's going to be alright. I'm here. Brock's here. Misty's here. Dawn, Piplup, Pikachu... We are all here for you...And even if Bianca and Lorenzo aren't here physically. I know that they are here in our hearts." Latias hugged him fiercely, more tears falling now. They stayed that way for a long time, Ash rocking back and forth to soothe the girl in front of his. Eventually after much time, Latias calmed down.

'Th..Thank you Ash,' Latias said in-between hiccups.

"Don't mention it," Ash murmured. They broke away slowly, both lamenting their loss of warmth. "Are those Bianca's paintings and art supplies?" Latias nodded and hugged them close to her chest. Ash didn't ask any more questions, and the two caught up with their friends.

* * *

Dinner came and went. Most of it disappearing with Ash himself quite literally. The black of night began its campaign across the flawless day, slowly revealing the secret lights it held. The day does not give up without a fight however. It sends up a flash of color, signaling that it will be back to beat back the night and brighten our world again.

Ash and his friends leaned on the railing of the ship, basking if the afterglow of the sinking sun. It is beautiful how the sun masterfully painted a picture with reds, yellows, oranges, pinks, and many other colors that came together to become a masterpiece each and everyday. Latias stepped back and took out Bianca's sketchpad. They could still see Altomare, glowing and warm in the evening sun. Latias had never seen her home from this point of view, but knew that she would remember it forever.

She reached for the sketchpad, but she grabbed the roll of paintings instead. She chocked back a few sobs as she laid her eyes upon Bianca's painted pictures. They were of her, Bianca and Lorenzo at various times and places. One was at the dinner table where they were all laughing heartily; another was of Latios and her playing in the garden together which may have been a the last time they did before he had died. They were all like this, paintings of her family and friends, and they brought her joy and sadness, but she would have the pictures to remember them by.

Latias was sure that was all that was there, but to her surprise, another roll of paintings revealed itself with the last painting, smaller in its radius. Latias had absolutely no idea of what else Bianca could have possibly painted on the small paper but slowly unrolled it.

She stared at the image weaved before her. They still of her, in her new human disguise however, and...Ash. There were about four pictures in there, each depicting a scene of tenderness between the two. They ranged from Ash and Latias in their Lati forms playing to them hugging. She blushed the hardest when she came upon the last elaborately depicted picture. It was of Ash, carrying her up the stairs bridal style, handling her with extreme care. She looked up with a small smile at the boy in front of her. Things were already looking up.

* * *

Once again, bedtime had befallen our heroes, and they dragged themselves up to their rooms to rest and recuperate.

"Attention Passengers. Estimated time till arrival in Vermillion city is ten hours," the captain said into the intercom. "Please enjoy your rest and thank you for sailing with us today." They would be arriving in the dead of night, and all of them would probably have to stay at the pokemon center. Latias sighed a bit, the sound of arriving in an unknown town resurfacing her homesickness.

'Hey Ash?' Latias asked timidly. Ash turned around waiting for the rest of her question. 'Can...can...can I sleep in your room?' Ash faltered a bit, not expecting this question. He looked towards everyone else for help. Brock looked at him with friendly envy, but his look told him that he believed that it would help Latias cope. Misty blanked her face, not trying to show how jealous she was, but she was sympathetic to the eon dragon and gave Ash the go ahead. Dawn said that as long as it helped Latias, she thought it was a good idea. Pikachu didn't respond with words, he just jumped onto Ash's shoulder, telling him that he just wanted some sleep.

Ash nodded towards the female eon dragon. He bid goodnight to everyone else and proceeded with Latias in tow to his room. The room was quite nice. It was spacious enough to move around, came with a marvelous ocean view, a bathroom and a queen-sized bed. Ash briefly wondered how the ship could afford these kinds of rooms for all of their occupants. His mind didn't linger long on his ramblings; he had to think of sleeping arrangements.

"Latias you can take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor with Pikachu," Ash said trying to be nice and avoid any awkward situations.

'No, you should take the bed, I can sleep on the floor just fine,' Latias responded, not wanting to force Ash into an uncomfortable sleeping place either. Ash shook his head.

"I really want you to take it. I've slept in worse conditions and besides, you look like you need good rest," Ash answered, wishing the same thing she did. Obviously neither of them was going to give ground. Contemplative, she thought about what she could do. Pikachu was already asleep on the bed, blissfully unaware of the two lightly arguing.

'If you are sleeping anywhere tonight, It's going to be on the bed, even if I have to share it,' Latias declared, blushing at bit.

"Wha...wait a minute," Ash protested. It was too late to do anything because Latias had already pushed him onto the bed and turned off the lights.

'Just sleep Ash. Pikachu has the right idea,' Latias said as she sunk under the covers, her red face hidden by the dark. Ash sighed; he just wasn't going to win this argument.

"Fine. Tell me how to keep my form overnight at least, so I don't accidentally crush anyone," he replied, slipping under the covers too. He was a bit nervous. He had never been this close to a girl before, much less sleep next to one. It was just a strange, yet slightly nice feeling. Latias informed him that all he had to do was keep some extra psychic energy in his form before falling asleep and fell into a peaceful slumber soon after.

Ash lay awake after that for awhile. Something just didn't feel right, but it wasn't his sleeping arrangements. No, he secretly enjoyed the fact that Latias clung to him even in her sleep and that her warmth radiated around her. What was bothering him was something innate however. He felt as if something was going to happen, and it wouldn't be a good thing. But he shrugged it off, attributing it to his lack of sleep and slowly drifted off into a light doze.

* * *

Up in the helm. 9 hours later

"How are things sir?" a sailor asked the captain as he walked over to stand by him.

"We are cruising without a worry at the moment. We should arrive without any complications," the captain replied cheerfully. It was strange for a sailor to ask how things were. "Why? Is something the matter?" The sailor looked out to the sea before answering.

"I just got a gut feeling that something is wrong," the sailor said, a little worry slipping into his voice. It wasn't a normal thing for a sailor to feel bad things coming. They say on the seas, a sailor has a sixth sense and most of the time that sense is correct.

"hmmmm..." the captain responded while stroking his chin in puzzlement. What could possibly go wrong now? They were only an hour away till Vermillion.

"I'm sure its nothing sir," The sailor said, not wanting to cause panic. The captain nodded slowly as he turned back to the instruments of navigation, unaware of the impending doom.

Twenty minutes later. The silence of the night was broken by a loud explosion, alarm bells, and the sound of screaming.

"What in the blazes is going on!" The captain shouted as he pressed the intercom that connected all of the communications of the ship.

"We've been attacked sir!" a voice echoed out from the intercom. It signal was coming from the storage and engine room; roaring and grunts began to overshadow them however.

"By who!" The captain questioned with desperation. This was a bad situation he had found himself in. They could sink if he didn't act quickly.

"Not by who! By what! It's all pokemon! Wild ones! They've gone berserk!" a man said into the intercom as the unmistakable roar of a gyarados,the rumble of a wailmer, and the sounds of a tentacruel could be heard. "Oh no! Hyper Beams and Body Slams incoming!" That was the last the captain heard, as the microphone began to broadcast static. The captain stared for a few seconds before composing himself into a professional manner.

The captain called out his pokemon revealing a poliwrath from the flash of light. Poliwrath looked at his trainer, wondering why he had been called out.

"Poliwrath I need you help." he told him.

"Poliwrath...poliwrath (Sure. What do you need.)" the pokemon responded, eager to help out his friend. The captain nodded and quickly told him the situation they had found themselves in. The captain sent poliwrath off to go and wake the sleeping pokemon down in the center. Some trainers liked to keep their pokemon pampered during the cruise, and the center provided just that. He then moved to the intercom to warn all the people aboard.

"ATTENTION! ALL PASSENGERS! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! ALL PASSENGERS AND POKEMON REPORT TO THE TOP DECK IMMIEDIATELY! I REPEAT THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!" The captain yelled into the intercom, making sure that even the heaviest sleepers would wake.

* * *

Ash eye's snapped open. Usually he wouldn't have awoken to any noise whatsoever, but he did fall asleep very troubled. Latias was still snoozing away in a strange role-reversal. Pikachu was looking around avidly now, trying to determine the trouble he sensed.

"I REPEAT THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! ALL PASSENGERS AND POKEMON REPORT TO THE TOP DECK!" the captain's voice boomed through the speaker on the ceiling once more.

"Pikachu, go and make sure the others are awake," Ash ordered, fearing for the safety of his friends. Pikachu nodded as Ash opened the door and ran down to the rooms of his friends.

Ash quickly strode over to the sleeping girl that lay in his bed.

"Latias! Wake up! We got to go!" Ash said as he shook her a bit, but she still would not wake. Ash sighed, if there was a time to try this, it shouldn't have been now. Ash closed his eyes and channeled his psychic and aura through the eon. What happened next was not what he expected. Instead of lightly nudging her mind to wake her up...his own mind was pulled into hers.

* * *

Ash looked up, not recognizing where he was at all. His surroundings seemed to be covered in mist, and it was almost as if things materialized as he approached.

He moved through the light mist, able to sense where Latias was. She was definitely nearby, but he couldn't see her anywhere. Suddenly, the mist dissipated showing environment that Ash had found himself in.

It was the secret gardens of Altomare. The fountain flowed smoothly and serenely, making peaceful splashing noises that soothed and calmed those who heard it. He turned around to find Latias, in her human form, sitting by it.

"Latias! We got to..." Ash said, but was interrupted by a finger to his lips that ushered him to be silent.

"Shh...I have something I need to do first." Latias whispered, an unknown emotion filling her voice. Well, unknown to Ash.

Ash looked at her strangely. He had no idea what kind of dream or thought he had entered.

"What do you need to do? I can help you," Ash said as he gripped her shoulders.

Latias didn't answer. Ash noticed that her face seemed to drift closer to his and had absolutely no idea what she was doing.

"I've always dreamed of doing this..." Latias whispered, her hot breath mingling his own. Ash flushed from the closeness, and Latias was inches away now. "Ash I..."

* * *

Then a wave of extreme cold washed over him and pulled him from Latias's mind. He awoke, shaking his head, feeling extremely confused.

"About time!" Misty said as she recalled Golduck to his pokeball. "You and Latias were so out of it that I had to use Golduck's Ice Beam to wake you up!" Ash looked up to see a couple of ice crystals that had formed in his hair, confirming it.

"Yeah, not even a Thunderbolt got you" Pikachu said as he hopped on his best friend's shoulder. More alarms were sounding off now. It was definitely not a good idea to stick around.

"We gotta get to the top deck now!" Brock said taking control of the perilous situation.. Ash nodded and pulled Latias out of her bed. She was completely confused.

'What's going on?' Latias asked as she rubbed her head in confusion and unawareness.

"The ship's been attacked by rouge pokemon! The captain wants everyone on the top deck now!" Dawn said as she moved towards the door, not wanting to linger at all. Latias's eyes snapped open.

'Lets go then!' She psychically urged as she pulled them all out of the door, grabbing her and Ash's things on the way out. The halls of the ship were in panic. People rushed here and there trying to find their friends, family, and pokemon. The elevators were jammed with people, the stairs swamped with traffic and everywhere people were just running, unsure of what to do.

They pushed onward to the top deck, wanting to know what the situation was. The deck was jam-packed with people awaiting instructions now.

"ALRIGHT PEOPLE! THE SHIP HAS BEEN ATTACKED BY WILD SEAFARING POKEMON. THEY HAVE GONE BESERK AND ATTACKED THE SHIP, DESTROYING THE ENGINE IN THE PROCESS, CAUSING IT TO BEGIN SINKING!" a sailor said into a megaphone .

"WE NEED ALL TRAINERS WHO HAVE A POKEMON CAPABLE OF FLYING, SURFING, OR TELEPORTING, TO HELP ANOTHER PASSENGER THAT DOES NOT HAVE TRANSPORT IF POSSIBLE! VERMILLION CITY IS ONLY FORTY MINUTES AWAY! FOR THOSE WHO DO NO HAVE TRANSPORT, PLEASE LINEUP AT THE LIFEBOATS!" a female crew member informed the confused myriad of peoples.

Ash and his friends looked at each other. Misty had Gyarados; Ash had Staraptor and that was all they really thought they had.

'Hey what about me?' Latias asked quietly as she nudged Ash.

"What? I can't let you transform here!" Ash said urgently. Latias knew he meant good, but wouldn't let it die down.

'No this is a life and death situation. Brock will ride on Staraptor. Misty and Dawn will go on Gyarados, and you and Pikachu will ride on me.' Latias said firmly, stating that it was the end of the argument. Ash tried to reason with the female eon, but she would not budge an inch on her position.

It was at this time that Brock decided to intervene.

"Maybe we won't have to use our pokemon. If we help the ship stop sinking, then maybe we can save the ship." Brock said reasonably. They looked at the rock-pokemon trainer with skeptical eyes.

"How do we do that?" Dawn asked, not having the slightest idea of what plan would work. Brock began to explain.

"If we and maybe a couple of other trainers go down to the leaks and use ice-type moves, maybe we can freeze the incoming water and keep the ship afloat." Brock answered. It was a genius idea. Ice floats after all.

"Great idea Brock!" Misty complimented. The group rushed to the nearest crew member and told them the plan Misty had formulated.

"You know! That might actually work!" he said as he rushed off to tell the captain. They followed him and ended up in the communication's room. The captain had just finished sending out a SOS to the nearest police station and center.

"What do we have here?" the captain asked the sailor. The sailor explained the plan that Brock had come up with, and the captain looked contemplative. "Hmmmm, that just might work...Alright! Kids go down there with him and try to seal it up. I'll tell the others to send any pokemon that knows ice type attacks down there. Hopefully, you don't have too much trouble with it." The captain pressed the button on the intercom, alerting his employees to the new plan. Teams of sailors were dispatched to seal off the leaks with their pokemon. Just maybe, they could save the ship.

* * *

Ash and his friends arrived at one of the major leaks. Well it was more of a lake now. The entire bottom floor had begun to flood.

"Our best bet is to ice it at the source. We have to block off these hallways first!" Brock supplied. A strong current was flowing through the hallways, away from the source. Anyone or anything that got caught in those waters would be swept out to sea or smashed into something. Add some hostile water pokemon, and it spelled trouble.

"We gotta try our best." Misty said as she called out Politoad and Golduck. Ash called out Buizel to help them out. Brock called out Croagunk, and Dawn called out Buneary to assist them. Latias watched on with worried eyes as she stood behind her trainer, just hoping that everything would work out.

"Why did you call out Croagunk?" Ash asked, with obvious confusion.

"Just watch. And use Ice Beam when I say so." Brock said confidently. "Croagunk! Brick Break on the floor as hard as you can!" Croagunk jumped and slammed his hand into the floor, causing a shock wave that parted the water in the hallway into two sides. (think of Moses and the Red Sea) "Now!" Buneary, Politoad, and Golduck fired their Ice Beams at the water, freezing it in place and creating a path. This method effectively blocked off all side leaks that flowed into the main stream, making their job much easier. More water began to rush towards them however from the front.

"Now its out turn! Buizel use Ice Punch on that wall of water!" Ash said. Buizel rushed forward and smashed his blue fist into the wave. Instantly, it froze, creating a wall that blocked the water and froze the huge amount of water behind it.

"Yeah! Great job Buizel!" Ash said as Buizel came back. A roar echoed through the hallway, and the group stared in horror as the distorted figures of pokemon appeared from behind the ice. They rammed into the ice repeatedly, wishing to break through and attack the group to do them bodily harm.. Ash was determined to not let that happen however as leaks began to sprout from the ice wall.

"Pikachu! Use Thunder on the water!" he said. Pikachu complied and sent a huge amount of volts into the water. The electricity jumped up the streams of water from the ice wall and shocked the pokemon barred behind it. They shrieked and yelled in pain from the super-effective attack and swam away.

"Yeah! You did it!" The sailor said, but his words were to be short lived. Two explosions from pokemon attacks broke through the bottom of the boat's floor. Even more water than before was seeping in, threatening to drown them all. They were just lucky that the rouge pokemon had decided to attack somewhere else.

"We have to get out of here!" Brock exclaimed as the structural integrity of the floor began to weaken. They raced up the stairs in a mad dash for safety. The sailor had scurried ahead to tell the captain,disappearing. On the stairs, Brock was in front with Ash bringing up the rear. Things were getting scary now as debris began to fall from the ceiling and pipes moaned and creaked as they bent and deformed.

Then the stairs gave way and Ash yelped in surprise as he felt himself falling down towards the debris and sharp current.

"Ash!" the entire group yelled from the top of the stairs. They watched as the young trainer began to plummet towards scrap metal and rushing tides. Pikachu watched in despair as Ash's figure continued to move further away.

Ash watched as the figures of his friends began to drift away. There was no one to save him now, but that thought was wrong. Latias jumped off of the ledge after the boy. She had changed mid-fall and sped towards him. This reminded Ash, that he could change too, but it would be unnecessary as he felt himself fall on the soft feathers of Latias's back.

"Thanks for saving me Latias." Ash said with extreme gratitude. He could not believe how stupid he was to forget that he could fly as well.

'Thank me later. We have to get off of this ship now!' Latias said as she zoomed back up to the others. Letting Ash down softly and re transforming into a human.

"I agree with her!" Brock said when they reached the deck. It was mainly empty now. Most of the passengers had escaped and only the crew was left up in the navigation decks. Ash and his friends wished to take some of them with them, but the crew adamantly told them that they would be fine and to escape right now while they still could. Their job right now was to make it as far as they could to Vermillion and try anything else that could save the ship. The group nodded in acceptance; they had done all they could.

'Are we going to follow my plan now?' Latias asked. The group nodded. Ash let out Staraptor and told him to carry Brock to Vermillion, hopping on Latias's waiting back. Dawn hopped on with Misty and her Gyarados a bit frightened by the giant blue water pokemon however; Pikachu then rode with Ash and Latias.

They had tried their best, and none of their friends had gotten hurt which is what really counted. They all took off, hoping that the sailors would be alright. What plagued their minds the most was this question however. Why did those pokemon attack?

* * *

Meanwhile far off in a secret base

"So what can you tell me about it?" a man in a black suit asked a lab coat-wearing scientist, a faithful Persian sitting by his side.

"Unsure at the moment. This is just a topographical examination. The only confirmatory information that I can gather without extensive experimentation is that it gives off some sort of energy." the lab coat responded.

"Any idiot could have figured that out. Now tell me if you will be able to determine what it is and utilize it in anyway," the man ordered, not wanting to beat around the bush.

"Well maybe... IF I had more funding," the scientist said with a quizzical smile. The black-suit wearing man grit his teeth in frustration and anger.

"Fine. I shall grant you access to the reserve. Take only what you need! No more! Or else you will regret it greatly," he responded through his teeth, relying the danger the scientist would find himself in should he disobey.

"Do not worry boss. Once I have discovered what this orb is and am able to use this thing-" the scientist said,"- you will be most satisfied with your..ahem.. investment." The scientist received the strange grayish-brown orb that his boss had acquired, eager to unlock its secrets.

"You had better make sure of that," the boss responded, "Come Persian." The yellow cat obeyed, following his master out the door...emblazoned with an enormous red 'R'.

* * *

**A/N**

**I've gone back and edited most of the previous chapters to improve them and include more details Feel free to go back and read them.**

**End A/N**

Now that I got that action out of my system. I'll be returning to the fluff and fun for the next chapter.

Alright that's all for this chapter!

Thanks for reading and please review!

-Mekon


	7. Ch6: Screaming and Headaches

**DISCLAIMER**

My ownership of pokemon is like the effectiveness of electric attacks on ground types.

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

_'Are we going to follow my plan now?' Latias asked. The group nodded. Ash let out Staraptor and told him to carry Brock to Vermillion, hopping on Latias's waiting back. Dawn hopped on with Misty and her Gyarados a bit frightened by the giant blue water pokemon however; Pikachu then rode with Ash and Latias. _

_They had tried their best, and none of their friends had gotten hurt which is what really counted. They all took off, hoping that the sailors would be alright. What plagued their minds the most was this question however. Why did those pokemon attack?_

* * *

"_Fine. I shall grant you access to the reserve. Take only what you need! No more! Or else you will regret it greatly," he responded through his teeth, relying the danger the scientist would find himself in should he disobey._

"_Do not worry boss. Once I have discovered what this orb is and am able to use this thing-" the scientist said,"- you will be most satisfied with your investment." The scientist received the strange grayish-brown orb that his boss had acquired, eager to unlock its secrets._

"_You had better make sure of that," the boss responded, "Come Persian." The yellow cat obeyed, following his master out the door...emblazoned with an enormous red 'R'._

* * *

Ch6: Screaming and Headaches

"ASH! WE'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!" Misty screamed from down on Gyarados. Up ahead in the distance she saw the obvious bridge of route 17, otherwise known as cycling road which was in the opposite direction of Vermillion City. They must have drifted a long ways away from Vermillion in the time they spent trying to save the ship. Leave it to Ash to lead them in the wrong direction.

"I am not going the wrong way!" Ash yelled back from the skies. This time he knew exactly where he was going, but it would be a while until they got there.

"Obviously you don't! Vermillion is in the other direction!" Misty shouted, thinking she had one-uped on Ash once again due to his lack of direction sense.

"I know that! We're not headed towards Vermillion. This is the way towards Pallet!" Ash responded loudly from his place on Latias, and indeed it was. That effectively clammed Misty up as her retort died in her mouth from the inability to counter his statement. For once his directional skills were correct. Misty swore she would never live to see this day...

Silence fell on the group as they crossed the cycling road bridge. Luckily, it was still far too early before any cyclist started their daily ride, but soon the sun would rise because the moon was about to fall. They hugged the coastline just in case they needed to make a break towards land and flew on towards Ash's home town.

"So what's the plan Ash?" Brock asked as Staraptor flew in closer to Latias.

"Get home before my mom totally freaks," Ash answered grimly. He knew that if word got out that he was on that boat that sank near Vermillion, his mother would go through hell and high water to find him, making sure to tell him off when she found him. Brock nodded, completely understanding his reasoning.

He had, after all, stayed with Mrs. Ketchum for a long time, and she would always worry if Ash was alright. Sometimes he would catch her just staring out into the sky, and he knew that she was thinking about her son. He really hoped that they would get to Pallet in time.

Things went on without a hitch for a good half hour. Pallet town was probably only a couple of miles away. He noticed that he was slowly loosing altitude however and looked down to confirm his suspicion.

'Are you tired Latias?' Ash asked telepathically to the eon who was burdened with his weight. She wasn't quick to respond because she was determined to show Ash that she was strong, but her tiredness took over, causing her to respond with a loud yawn. Plus, she had had a particularly hard day, and that did quite a number on her as well.

'Yeah. I'm really sleepy,' Latias answered groggily. Her inexperience in flying long distances with a heavy load, coupled with her lack of training, attributed to her small amount of stamina that she possessed at the moment.

'Alright land over there really quick,' Ash told her. Latias slowly flew over a high cliff that looked over into the sea and landed. She laid on the ground for a while, completely exhausted.

"Hey is Latias alright?" Dawn asked from below down on Gyarados behind Misty. They all stopped, and Brock hovered near the cliff with Staraptor making sure that the duo were alright. Ash assured them that she was just tired and would be fine. He dismounted with Pikachu in his arms and told Latias that she did a great job.

"Alright Latias I want you to transform," Ash ordered softly to the worn out legendary. Latias slowly enveloped herself in her psychic powers and transformed into her human guise using more energy than usual to do so because of her haggard mind and body. Ash found himself staring again as the last beams of moonlight seemed to highlight her human figures and give her an almost otherworldly glow. He quickly shook himself and did what he had set out to do.

Latias weakly opened her eyes to the nudging of soft feathers on her cheek, and was greeted by Ash's black Lati form motioning for her to hop on.

'Lets go Latias,' Ash said to the tired girl, 'I'll fly us the rest of the way. Just hold Pikachu.' Ash knew that Latias was uncomfortable with pokeballs so he would fly her there on his back. Latias sluggishly picked up the still snoozing electric mouse and slung herself onto her trainer's back. He was so soft and warm and strong. She laid her head down on his soft feathery neck to sleep as Ash took to the skies gracefully and powerfully, easily lulling the tired Latias into slumber. Ash turned his head towards the sleeping eon dragon and smiled before turning to his other friends.

'Let's get going guys. We should be there in another hour and a half or so if we keep the pace we had before,' Ash told the waiting pokemon and friends from the skies now. They nodded as they all moved on once again towards the peaceful and welcoming town of Pallet. All of them had their own thoughts about what Ash had done.

_'Man! How is Ash so smooth without even realizing it? He practically has a gorgeous girl saddling him right now! Grrr I'm so jealous! I really need to get a girlfriend...' _Brock thought as he flew next to Ash on Staraptor looking at the pair wishing he was in Ash's position or even had a fraction of his girl-grabbing skills. He tried to list off the number of girls that seemed to just fall in love with Ash and began to lose count; it wasn't just people either as evidenced by the slumbering girl on Ash's back.

Down below the girls were thinking about Ash's actions as well. One thought it was extremely cute while the other was even more jealous than Brock was.

'_Awww! That's so cute and romantic! Sigh I wish someone was like that towards me!' _Dawn swooned, happy for the girl flying on Ash up above. Misty's thoughts were completely different however.

'_Gahh! She's practically straddling him! And Ash doesn't even mind! He actually looks like he's enjoying it!' _Misty fumed. Dawn could have sworn that steam was pouring out of Misty's ears as she gazed upon the duo in the sky. She raised her eyebrows but let it go, deciding to ponder it later.

In the skies, Ash wasn't really thinking at all. He was just enjoying the thrill of flying and being able to do so. The way the ground below seemed to fly by and how the air rushed all around him was an exhilarating feeling. To him, the fact that a girl was lying upon his back did not trouble him; he merely reveled in the fact that he was helping her.

-An hour and twenty-five minutes later-

The coast had fallen into meadows and beaches now, and the group easily beached and landed on the soft natural grassy grounds that Pallet Town hosted.

Ash could see it now, the familiar sight of his pokemon on Professor Oak's lab just waking and beginning their day, the lab itself, his house, Gary's house and all of the other folks' houses that resided in his town. A couple he didn't recognize, but he reasoned that more people had moved in by now in his five years of absence. Other than that he didn't notice any difference at all and was glad.

Ash slowly coasted to a stop and landed gently onto the grass, the feel of it being very welcome and familiar to him. He turned his long neck around to face the sleeping girl and pokemon residing on his back and smiled at the scene. Pikachu seemed to hold onto Latias the same way he held onto him, and he found it very cute.

"Latias, It's time to get up. We are here now," he whispered softly in his Lati voice, lightly nudging her face with his to wake her up. He took notice of how soft and warm her skin felt against his cheek and blushed at the feeling of such closeness, remembering that this girl had slept in the same bed as he just a couple of hours ago. His blush intensified, but he quickly subdued it as the girl upon his back began to wake from her dreams and peaceful sleep.

Ash briefly wondered why it had gotten so hard to wake her up as of late. Unknown to him, Latias loved to stay asleep because there she could dream, and in her dreams, that's where her fantasies came true as opposed to the corporeal realm where they had not yet manifested themselves.

Thus, in her half-awake state with Ash rubbing against her cheek, she rubbed her face against his back and sighed in happiness, not fully knowing what she was doing. Ash almost choked on the air he was breathing from such an intimate action that sent warm tingles from the point of contact all about his body.

He turned around to find his friends starring at him with mixed expressions. Ash blushed, having been caught in such a compromising situation, but resumed his attempts to wake the Eon.

Pikachu had awoken to Ash's voice, finding it extremely disorienting to wake in the arms of Latias, not used to such close contact with anyone else but Ash. He cocked his head to the side as he watched his best friend attempt to wake up Latias. He balked at Ash's actions. The fact that Ash was nuzzling her face to wake her spoke volumes to any pokemon. The fact that Latias was nuzzling back only reinforced the message. Surely Ash did not know the message he was sending out however, and Pikachu made a mental note to talk to his trainer about that.

"Oh hey Pikachu," Ash greeted as he looked towards the small electric mouse with a smile. Pikachu yawned before wishing his master morning, hopping off of his back in the process.

"I see you sure are getting cozy with Latias," Pikachu teased as he poked Ash's sides with a laugh. Ash blushed again, which he seemed to be doing a lot with Latias around, at the jest.

"Shut it Pikachu or else I'll cut off ketchup," Ash threatened with a glare towards his best friend. Pikachu feigned a state of fear as he ambled off to greet the other humans a good morning, a smile adorning his small face.

"C'mon Latias. You need to wake up now. I realllllly need to stand up before I loose feeling to the bottom-half of my body," Ash pleaded with the girl. Latias slowly blinked her eyes at the soft plea, allowing the first few morning rays to filter through her eyelids. She looked up, unaware of where she was or how she got there. "Finally you're awake!" Latias looked around from her spot on Ash's back, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. The sights and smells and sounds were all so different compared to home. "Uhh Latias do you mind getting off now?"

Latias jumped up from her place of residence, not wanting to cause Ash anymore discomfort.

'Are we here?' Latias asked as she stretched, greeting the others a good morning simultaneously. She could see a small town up ahead which could only be Ash's hometown.

"Yup! Welcome to Pallet!" Ash said as he floated backup and transformed into his human form. He ignored the tiredness he felt from flying a couple dozen miles and eagerly walked towards his house. "Well lets get going guys. I don't want my mother to freak out anymore than she has too." Brock, Misty, Dawn, Latias and Pikachu nodded. It sure was great to be home.

* * *

As they traveled towards the nearby Pallet Town, Latias spotted so many different pokemon that she had never seen before. She asked about each and every single one of them, getting answers mainly from Ash and Brock.

Soon they ventured over the hill and came into full view of the town of Ash's birth. All of them smiled at the peacefulness of the town that lay ahead after having much tribulations recently. Ash broke into a run as he ran to his house, eager to see his mom again after such a long time.

"Hey wait up Ash!" Dawn yelled as everyone else picked up the pace in order to keep up with the excited boy. They arrived just in time for Ash to start knocking on the old familiar wood. Ash made a mental note that Mr. Mime wasn't answering the door, and that he wasn't in the garden. He was most likely running an errand for his mother at the moment.

"Coming!" a voice called from the other side. They could hear footsteps approach as the moment of reunion was upon them. The door swung open revealing a middle-age brown haired women with a very cheerful demeanor.

"Ash! Honey! You're back safe and sound! Thank goodness!" Mrs. Ketchum exclaimed as she gave her son a tight hug.

"It's great to see you too mom..." Ash gasped as he was slowly loosing breath from his mother's iron grasp hug. His friends all chuckled and giggled at the scene.

"Hi Delia!" Pikachu chirped as he hopped onto his trainer's head

"Oh I missed you too Pikachu!" Delia squealed as she let go of Ash and latched onto the small yellow mouse residing upon his head, enveloping Pikachu in a tight hug next. Ash stepped back, allowing himself to breathe again. He guessed that his mother had not heard about the sunken cruise ship yet and hopefully she wouldn't ever. "Oh, where are my manners! Come in! Come in all of you!" Mrs. Ketchum said as she turned around with Pikachu still snuggled in her arms allowing their passage into Ash's house.

She dropped Pikachu off on one of the sofa's before rushing into the kitchen to whip up some quick snacks for Ash and his friends. Meanwhile, aforementioned peoples, decided to take a seat in the living room.

Ash looked around, happy that nothing had changed except for the trophies and framed badges adorning the mantle and walls.

'Are those all yours Ash?' Latias asked as she went up to the latest trophy from Sinnoh that gleamed from a very high polish.

"Yup. I just won that one a few weeks ago," Ash said proudly, "Right before we came to Alto Mare actually." Latias nodded as she continued to admire all of the awards and badges and symbols that Ash had accumulated over the years. They continued further down the hall and she followed the trail, leaving the others back in the living room.

"It sure feels weird to be back," Brock commented, not used to being back in Kanto after all this time.

"Yeah...Usually we are always on the move...so it does feel kinda strange to be back home and not have to move," Ash answered. They sat there in a strange silence, not having any words to say. Mrs. Ketchum would have plenty to say, however, that much they were sure of. She had two new people to meet after all.

"Alright! I have snacks! Your favorites too Ash!" Mrs. Ketchum announced as she came in carrying trays of food.

"Yes!" Ash cried out as he lunged for the food that his mother had laid down on the table. Mrs. Ketchum smiled sweetly as she watched her favorite boy eat like a madman.

"I have ketchup for you too Pikachu," she added as she handed a fresh bottle of ketchup to the small mouse. Pikachu exclaimed in happiness as he took the bottle and immediately began downing it. She then turned to her other guests as her son and his pikachu were snacking away.

"It's very nice to see you again Brock, Misty," Mrs. Ketchum said as she sat down in an empty seat. "And I believe that you are Dawn. Ash has told me so much about you!" Dawn nodded in confirmation of her and eagerly greeted Mrs. Ketchum, showing off her pokemon as well. Ash's mom gushed over their cuteness and commented on how well trained they looked. She did not bring out Mamoswine which was a very smart choice on Dawn's part. Little bits of chatter flitted through here and there between the girls, allowing for the guys to enjoy the food set out for them.

Latias, now finished looking at all of Ash's awards, returned to the living room, very impressed with Ash. Ash's mom turned to look at the very beautiful girl that Ash had brought home with him, well...more beautiful than usual. She wondered who she could be, seeing as Ash never mentioned anyone else coming back home.

She was even more surprised when she didn't say anything, just walked over to Ash and sat down, a smile adorned on her face. She looked at Ash with a bright smile, seeming to communicate with him without speaking.

"Ash, honey, who is this?" Ash's mother asked as she observed the young girl. Ash blinked a few times, trying to come up with a suitable answer to his mother's question.

"Uhh...she is ummmm errr..." Ash stuttered, his inability to come up with a quick answer now would be his undoing. Mrs. Ketchum assumed the worst when Ash failed to come up with an answer.

"ASHTON KETCHUM! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT MESSING AROUND WITH GIRLS BEFORE YOU ARE MARRIED!" Mrs. Ketchum shrieked as she made a mad grab for her oh so beloved son.(1)

"AHH!" Ash screamed as he bolted upright and ran for his very life. His mother was so scary when she was angry. Latias immediately looked away, not wanting Ash's mother to draw any more conclusions from her heated face.

Mrs. Ketchum gave chase to the renegade boy, shouting the entire time about how long Ash's punishment would last. After much laughter, much to Ash's expense, Brock decided to take pity on the terrified young man. He held Mrs. Ketchum back by her arm on her next pass to capture her fleeing son.

"Now, Mrs. Ketchum, you should let Ash explain first. He can get very easily tongue tied under pressure, and you know that he would never do anything against your wishes," Brock said. Delia contemplated on what she should do. She did trust Brock a lot, and usually his judgment was sound. She crossed her arms, conceding to breeder.

"You have one chance to save yourself Ashton," Ash's mother warned as she sat down, eying her son as he approached.

"Phew, Thanks Brock," Ash said as he slowly walked into the room in which his mother resided.

"Now tell me who this very pretty girl is," Delia asked, her usual smile plastered on her face causing the other trainers to face-fault from her very quick transition. Latias blushed, flattered that Ash's mother thought she was pretty.

"Sigh...this isn't that easy to explain..." Ash lamented, rubbing the back of his head in an act of stalling.

"Your chance is very quickly dying Ashton..." she responded, her previous threats now making themselves known.

"Alright! Alright! Just don't freak out too much," Ash conceded, "Go ahead Latias." Delia looked towards the girl sitting on the couch, awaiting what she was going to do. Latias nodded towards her trainer and closed her eyes. Mrs. Ketchum looked on as Latias became enveloped in a soft blue light and was taken aback for a bit. After a couple of seconds, there was now, for what she assumed, a pokemon in the girls place.

"Mom meet Latias, Latias...mom," Ash introduced, remembering that he would eventually have to tell her about other new things as well. Delia ignored him and walked up to the white and red Eon dragon with fascination. She was still so pretty in her pokemon form, no wonder that trait carried over into her human shape.

"It's very nice to meet you Latias," Delia greeted, deciding to just go with it and ask questions later.

'It's nice to meet you too Mrs. Ketchum,' Latias cooed, glad that Ash's mother seemed to accept her very easily. Mrs. Ketchum was only a little bit surprised that Latias seemed to be able to communicate with humans, but didn't express at it openly. She had guessed that Latias possessed some form of non-verbal communication from her observations from earlier, so it wasn't all that astonishing. Delia went up to the dragon and ever so slowly placed her hand on her neck, feeling the softness beneath her hands. Mrs. Ketchum smiled at the pokemon, glad that this was nothing as serious as she thought it was. (2)

"You are soooo cute!" Mrs. Ketchum gushed as she continued to run her hands through Latias' feathers, "Alright honey, You're off the hook, now tell me the entire story," She said as she sat down next to the female dragon, her hand still petting Latias.

"Not again..." Ash lamented, this being the already third time he had told it, "Latias isn't there anyway I could just project memories so I won't have to tell them again?" Latias thought for a couple of minutes. Her brother did mention things like that before, but she had never tried any of it. She had never had any reason to.

'Uhhh I think so, but I'm not entirely sure how to do it. Latios used to go on and on about mind melding and pulling others into your mind. Stuff like that,' Latias answered, completely baffled.

"Would it be anything like Sight Sharing maybe?" Ash probed, really not wanting to retell the entire thing once more. That idea struck a familiar cord with Latias. Sight Sharing was a mental link between two psychs that shared a tight bond. Maybe it was possible to project one's memories in the same manner.

'Maybe,' Latias answered, unsure of the possible results of an excursion into Ash's mind.

"Lets try!" Ash said with determination and his usual attitude to jump into things. If they could do this, it would make it so much easier for Ash. After getting over her reluctance, Latias eyes glowed blue, enveloping the other humans and pokemon in her psych, as she searched for the psychic signal of Ash. It didn't take her long, and when she found it she infused her own psych into his. The effect was instantaneous.

Suddenly they were all thrust into the memories of Ash's journey from Sinnoh all the way to Alto Mare, all the way to Pallet in first person. Unfortunately, because Ash was not properly trained in the ways of the mind, this caused him to not be able to filter out certain parts; Ash's mother saw some rather embarrassing, deemed inappropriate, moments, not to mention the whole ordeal of the sinking cruise ship was shown in clear detail as well.

So after a successful viewing of Ash's memories, his friends and his mother knew exactly what Ash experienced and witnessed from first person view. What particularly stuck in their minds was some of the more...intimate moments shared between Latias and her trainer however as those were some of the last things they had seen.

But what set Mrs. Ketchum off the most was the fact that they had slept...together...in! the! same! bed!

"ASHTON KETCHUM!" she yelled for the second time that day, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING! YOU ARE NOT TO GO AROUND SLEEPING WITH GIRLS! ESPECIALLY AT YOUR AGE!" She immediately was upon him once again, her ire rising.

Latias really didn't want Ash to get hurt on her account and decided to try to diffuse the situation as peacefully as possible.

'Wait! It was all my idea Mrs. Ketchum. Please don't punish Ash for it. He was just being nice and trying to make me feel better because I was still feeling homesick,' Latias pleaded to Ash's raging mother. Delia reviewed her closely. She wore an honest look, and it would be very much like Ash to want to help someone, even going through...extremes...to do so.

"Hmph, Fine. But I think you, and I need a little chat mister," she responded as she dragged Ash away from the group, complete with flailing and protests.

Latias, Brock, Misty, Dawn and Pikachu looked at each other with unbelieving eyes as Mrs. Ketchum dragged Ash into a room and shut the door.

"She didn't even ask about Ash becoming a Latios.." Brock voiced in exasperation.

"She probably forgot about it with the whole ship thing and errrr...other...things," Dawn responded uncomfortably, "She sure can be scary when she is mad." Brock nodded in agreement, glad that he wasn't Ash at the moment.

"Pika pi pikachu pika pikachu," (She will probably bring it up sooner or later.) Pikachu said as he hopped onto the sofa to rest. Pikachu's mind was whirling away right now however. The fact that Ash had slept in the same bed as Latias definitely meant that he would need to talk to Ash soon.

"What do you think Misty?" Brock asked as he turned to the red-head he sat next to. Misty crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air before answering.

"Hmph, why do I care?" Misty said as she tried to conceal the fact that she was very upset, "I'm going outside to get some air." Misty then abruptly stood up and walked out of the house almost forgetting that it wasn't her house and she couldn't slam the doors. The humans and Latias looked at each other in confusion. What was upsetting Misty?

"I'll go after her..." Dawn said as she followed the path of the upset Waterflower outside the door. This left a very confused Latias, Brock and Pikachu in the middle of the living room.

Brock slumped down in the nearest chair rubbing his temples.

"Sigh...I think it would have been so much easier if we had just gone to Vermillion..." Brock muttered as he tried to ignore the oncoming headache from the events he had already gone through that day.

* * *

(1) lol, this is definitely going to become a running gag throughout this story as it embarrasses both Ash and Latias

(2) Nothing too serious, lol. That sure is ironic.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Haha! Who here though I was going to do a long trip from Vermillion to Pallet town hmm? Well I'm definitely not, because the real journey begins now from Pallet! Next chapter will be very interesting. I got some things planned out.

Anyways thanks for reading and please review!

-Mekon


	8. Ch7: Bleeding Hearts, Dangerous Signs

**DISCLAIMER**

My ownership of Pokemon == chances of catching a level 100 Arceus with full health with a pokeball minus like 1000000 times.

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

"_She didn't even ask about Ash becoming a Latios.." Brock voiced. _

"_She probably forgot about it with the whole ship thing and errrr...other...things," Dawn responded uncomfortably, "She sure can be scary when she is mad." Brock nodded in agreement._

"_Pika pi pikachu pika pikachu," (She will probably bring it up sooner or later.) Pikachu said as he hopped onto the sofa to rest. Pikachu's mind was whirling away however. The fact that Ash had slept in the same bed as Latias definitely meant that he would need to talk to Ash soon._

"_What do you think Misty?" Brock asked as he turned to the red-head he sat next to. Misty crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air before answering._

"_Hmph, why do I care?" Misty said as she tried to conceal the fact that she was very upset, "I'm going outside to get some air." Misty then abruptly stood up and walked out of the house almost forgetting that it wasn't her house and she couldn't slam the doors. The humans and Latias looked at each other in confusion. What was upsetting Misty?_

"_I'll go after her..." Dawn said as she followed the path of the upset Waterflower outside the door. This left a very confused Latias, Brock and Pikachu in the middle of the living room._

_Brock slumped down in the nearest chair rubbing his temples._

"_Sigh...I think it would have been so much easier if we had just gone to Vermillion..." Brock muttered as he tried to ignore the oncoming headache from the events he had already gone through that day._

* * *

Ch7: Bleeding Hearts, Dangerous Signs

Dawn looked left and right as she exited Ash's house. Misty must have run off quickly because the blue-haired coordinator did not see a single sign of her bright orange hair anywhere in her vicinity. Dawn sighed out of frustration, looking down to the ground in the process, noticing something that could help her on her mission: footprints.

She steeled her resolve once more and briskly hurried after the fleeing Cerulean gym leader. As she followed the fresh tracks, she noticed that she was starting to leave Pallet Town. Dawn reasoned that Misty couldn't have gone too far however and pushed forward.

Abruptly, the tracks swerved to the right, into a nearby forested area. She cocked her brow, unknowing of what significance that place held to Misty. Dawn made her way through the underbrush, her curiosity mounting.

Suddenly a large clearing appeared, containing a large pond and stream. There on the shore was an upset Misty. Dawn took a couple of seconds to survey her surroundings before approaching the girl in from of her. Obviously this place held some sort of memory or occurrence that was pivotal to Misty's life. After a moment's time, she slowly advanced towards the girl.

"Misty? Are you alright?" Dawn asked quietly as she sat down next to the water-pokemon trainer. Misty didn't answer, but merely just stared out into the calm pool of water, remembering. "Misty?"

Misty sighed sadly, absentmindedly picking up a smooth rock and skipping it across the water.

"I just don't know Dawn..." Misty slowly answered, just watching the ripples spread across the water. "I don't know what to do or what to think or what to feel anymore. I'm just so confused." Dawn was silent for a moment, pondering what Misty had meant by that. She looked at the miniscule amount of time she had spent with Misty and only came up with one conclusion.

"Is it about Ash?" she bluntly asked, causing Misty to balk a bit. Misty attempted to deny that statement, but all that came out was a stutter. She sighed again.

"Am I that obvious?" Misty questioned looking towards Dawn for the truth. Dawn contemplated on her answer and decided to just get it out.

"Yeah, It's kinda easy to see," Dawn said rubbing the back of her head in nervousness and awkwardness.

"Except to him..." Misty murmured, her thoughts returning to her brash raven-haired best friend.

"Well we all know how dense Ash can be," Dawn said with a chuckle, which was earnestly returned by the orange-haired trainer to the left. A short pause of words followed, but was eventually punctured by the blue-haired coordinator. "It's not just about him...It's about other people as well..girls to be specific," Misty immediately tensed and stiffened as Dawn hit the real reason for her being upset.

"I can't help but feel..." Misty started.

"Jealous?" Dawn finished, looking at Misty with a soft expression. Misty nodded sadly. "I could tell by the way you looked at Latias and me when we first met back in Alto Mare." Misty looked away, slightly ashamed by her so easily read hostility. "Don't worry. I'm not angry and I'm not offended. You won't have to worry about me." Dawn wished she could say the same about Latias, but that could have been a lie.

"I don't know what to do Dawn," Misty lamented, "I feel so jealous, but I feel bad afterward. It's so hard for me to just let things like that go." Dawn was silent, just letting Misty talk. "And then I get even more jealous because they are always prettier than me, or more special or something!" At this, however, Dawn protested.

"That's not the important thing though," Dawn said, a fierce determination to drill that message through her head, on her face. "It doesn't matter if they are prettier or taller or a better trainer or anything!... To Ash you are still special. You're his best friend. Even if he does end up with someone else, you should know that you will always have a place in his heart."

Misty was quiet for a bit, contemplating Dawn's words.

"But..." Misty began, before being violently cut off from Dawn.

"But nothing! You don't know how special you are to Ash. He used to go on about you all the time. And obviously he likes you, maybe not in the romantic sense, but he still cares! Plus a lot of the girls Ash befriends have some kind of resemblance to you... " Dawn ranted, finally taking a long deep breath, "Besides you ARE pretty and a great trainer and a great friend."

"I see what you mean when you say 'resembles me'," Misty said with a weak chuckle, noting Dawn's uncharacteristic blow-up. They lay in silence a little longer before Misty broke it again. "Do you want to know why I came here Dawn?" Dawn hesitated in nodding, because she really did want to know, however, she feared that it would be insensitive to ask.

Misty took her silence as a yes and continued on.

"This was the place where I first met Ash," she answered with a serene smile on her face, easily remembering that strange day.

"Here?" Dawn asked redundantly, quirking her brow in surprise.

"Yeah...that was when he was first starting his journey and didn't have a clue about what to do," the orange-haired girl responded with mirth, "I literally fished him out of the river!" Dawn smiled, just imagining the scene that Misty was describing to her. "On that day...he became my first real friend...and my best friend."

"And you did the same for him..." Dawn answered back with a cheery smile. Misty smiled as she stared out over the lake, mentally hearing the shouts and splashing of the boy whom she fished out the the pond all those years ago.

The game wasn't up yet, but Misty knew now that at least she would always have a consolation prize, and that was one thing that would always make her smile.

* * *

With Brock and Latias and Pikachu

Brock glanced towards the door as Dawn left, deciding that this would be the best time if any to talk about what he had on his mind.

"Latias, I want to talk," Brock said as he looked at the eon, his face filled with seriousness and absent of any perverse looks. Pikachu looked up too, picking up on the discussion that Brock was about to discourse on, making himself alert.

'Okay...What do you want to talk about?' Latias answered, completely unaware of what Brock could possible talk about. That was a mistake on her part. Brock nodded before continuing.

"Seeing as I aim to be a top pokemon breeder, I can confidently say that I know quite a bit about Pokemon," Brock started. Latias nodded, easily following his speech. "So due to this I know some things about Pokemon courtship and mate-ship, although no human truly knows all about it, myself included." Latias did not know how to respond to the unexpected subject.

"So that leads us to where I am headed: the courtship you have formed with Ash, the latter, unknowingly as well," Brock finished. Pikachu agreed and conveyed to Brock that he had planned to talk to Ash about this later.

'I don't understand...' Latias answered, her face full of confusion. Brock and Pikachu feared as much. It was most likely that since her father and mother were deceased that her brother was to take on the responsibility of informing Latias of courting and mating. Unfortunately her brother had passed as well, leaving no one to tell her of Pokemon relationships.

Latias knew full well what mating and courting was, but had no idea that there was some sort of process to the whole matter in terms of Pokemon.

"You see Latias there are really two major stages in pokemon courtship: the courtship agreement, which is the male's gift to the female, and then what we humans would call dating" Brock answered. "I don't want to be too blazē about this but, some of the things that you and Ash have been doing are not done until deep into courting or if you were both mates..."

At this suggestion Latias blushed hard; the idea that she and Ash were already deep in an intimate relationship was extremely pleasing to think about, but embarrassing to be voiced by another.

"Then mating...well that's explanatory," Brock said with a chuckle, "That's all I really know...Pikachu you got anything else to say?" Pikachu thought for a moment, nodded, and hurried over to Latias.

-Pokespeech-

"Alright there's a couple of things that Brock missed because he probably doesn't know about it: claims, marks, and bonding," Pikachu said as he sat down on the seat next to Latias. Latias listened intently to the small yellow mouse pokemon, wanting to learn all she could.

"Claiming is quite easy to understand. A claim is a publicly made action or statement that signifies that a certain pokemon intends to mate or court another. If there are multiple claims...those who have made claims must fight it out to see who wins. The winner will then be allowed to court and possibly eventually mate the pokemon in question," Pikachu continued; Latias nodded, easily understanding.

"Marking is done to signify that a pokemon is taken. The courting mark is temporary and will only remain if they continue courting OR if they solidify their mark into a mating mark. If the courted fall out of their relationship, the mark will disappear, signaling availability," Pikachu added.

"But what do the marks look like?" Latias asked, "How does another pokemon tell them apart?"

"Each pokemon's mating mark is different in some way. None are one and true the same," Pikachu responded, easily answering her question. Latias nodded, briefly wondering how her mark would look like.

"Last is bonding. Once a pokemon has chosen a mate, a true mate, they are forever bonded to that pokemon in soul and spirit. This is one of the most closely guarded secrets of Pokemon mating. Each soul has their own companion, soul-mate, true love...etc" Pikachu informed, but this raised another question.

"What if the pokemon mated isn't the soul-mate? What happens then?" Latias asked with worry.

"Oh nothing bad happens to them. It's just that the bond between them will never be full and complete. The relationship between two non-soul-mates would only amount to a fraction of happiness and intimacy available to a true soul-mate-bond," Pikachu finished, "Of course that's just a basic overview. There is much more to courting and mating that just what we have described. There are even some mysteries that us pokemon do not understand," Latias nodded and sat processing all of this new information.

"How did you learn all of this stuff anyway?" Latias asked, wondering how and where the small yellow mouse got this information, with Pikachu being a trained pokemon almost all his life. Pikachu shrugged.

"You pick things up after a long time traveling around. Plus a lot of Ash's pokemon are older than us, so they explain it to those who don't know," Pikachu said with indifference.

"But...what does this have to do with me and Ash?" Latias asked still confused as to why they brought up the whole topic. Pikachu gave her an incredulous look.

"Everything!" Pikachu exclaimed in disbelief that Latias could not connect the dots, "You are laying a claim on Ash without even realizing it Latias!" She looked away, not wishing to reveal the true depth of this truth.

"What if I meant to do that..." Latias murmured to herself, her back turned away from the small yellow mouse and now sleeping human. Pikachu's eyes grew large, a bit surprised, but only just. If Latias did intend to fight for Ash, then she had a long war to fight with many enemies and many battles because Pikachu knew that there were so many after his heart.

* * *

With Ash and his mother

"Alright Ashton, sit," Mrs. Ketchum commanded to her son. Said son slowly took his seat, a bit fearful of what he mother was planning to do or say.

"First! Transform..," Delia commanded once more. Ash would have backed away if he could, but there was no where to escape to. He had thought and hoped that his mother had forgotten.

"Mom, I can ex..." Ash said before getting cut-off.

"Ashton just do what I said," she interjected in a firm voice. She wanted to see for herself what had transpired unto him. Delia eyed him critically, daring him to protest. Ash sighed before closing his eyes.

"Just try not to freak out..." he murmured as he was enveloped in a bright light. He was really starting to hate this routine of explaining everything over and over again. Ash's mom watched as her son's shape began to warp and morph into a somewhat familiar form. Upon the light's retreat, a large black and white levitating pokemon was revealed. To Ash's mother, he looked a lot like Latias.

Delia was not stunned speechless, but rather, intrigued. She was handling it surprisingly well.

"hmm..I remember when you wished that you were a pokemon," she said with a smile, running her hands through Ash's smooth feathers, much like she did with Latias, "Who ever thought it would happen?" She chuckled a bit at this irony and continued to just stroke his smooth coat.

'You aren't freaking out as much as I thought you would...' Ash telepathed, baffled by his mother's apparent indifference. She raised her brow.

"Don't get me wrong. I am a bit surprised, but you are my son. Nothing would ever change that, and I will always accept you, no matter what," his mother responded with a smile.

'Thanks mom,' he answered back, enveloping her in a hug. It was strange, because now he was taller than her and larger too. Mrs. Ketchum took notice of this.

"I know that you're supposed to be going through a growth spurt soon, but this is not what I exactly had in mind," she added with mirth. Ash laughed with her, glad that nothing had changed between them and that nothing ever truly would, "What pokemon are you anyways?"

'I'm now part of a species of legendary pokemon called Latios,' Ash answered with pride. Being a pokemon was cool, but being a legendary pokemon was even cooler. Mrs. Ketchum beamed.

"A legendary pokemon huh? Who would have thought?" she asked rhetorically and then suddenly changed the subject, "Are they all male?"

'Yeah, but Latias is the female counterpart,' he answered, his mind coming up with an image of the red and white pokemon, causing a slight red to appear on his cheeks. This was not missed by Mrs. Ketchum.

"Soooooooo do I see little Latias and Latios flying around soon honey?" she teased, and Ash immediately flushed red with extreme mortification.

'MOM!' he exclaimed out of embarrassment. How could his own mother ask such a question! Mrs. Ketchum just loved to embarrass her only son though and Ash knew it.

"I'm kidding honey. Don't go do anything like that until you're married to the girl," she responded with in turn, her voice light and cheerful, "Although I am looking forward to being a grandmother!" Ash couldn't have stopped blushing if you had presented him with the rarest, most powerful, and most legendary pokemon out there. She continued to laugh, all at the expense of her beloved son whom she adored so much.

* * *

Ash returned to the living room, permanently red in the face for all eternity. His friends had returned to the living room already, or were already present in there before, waiting for him. Upon entrance, they gave him a confused and concerned stare, seeing his obvious different coloration.

'Are you alright Ash?' Latias asked out of concern as she placed her hand on his head to check for a fever or another possible ailment. That one touch coupled with her concerned tone did not help Ash's condition at the moment. He just couldn't look at her yet.

"uhhhhh Ash?" Brock asked as he waved his hands up and down in front of the boy's face. He still did not respond. Misty rolled her eyes and went up to Ash, promptly bonking him lightly on the head with her mallet. That did the trick as Ash was pulled out of his self-induced trance and became aware of a small throb of pain on his head.

"Ouch," Ash said as he rubbed his head. Latias grimaced a bit, but didn't object to Misty's method of getting Ash's attention this time.

"What's going on Ash?" Misty asked, folding her arms, waiting for an answer.

"Uhhhh nothing!" Ash said, his voice a bit higher than usual. He did not want to discuss what his mother had just discussed again, especially with his friends. Misty was about to pursue the question, but Mrs. Ketchum appeared and interrupted them, telling them to go and visit Professor Oak since there was still daylight, temporarily saving Ash from further interrogation by his overly curious friends.

"Great idea Mrs. Ketchum! Ash hasn't seen his other pokemon since he left for Sinnoh!" Brock exclaimed, not knowing he was acting in Ash's favor.

Ash immediately jumped at the suggestion, extremely eager to visit his old friends. It would be a very special reunion for him.

"Great idea Brock! Let's go!" Ash exclaimed running out the door, his friends following closely behind. Halfway to the lab, Ash began to have a strange tingling foreboding feeling, but put it aside as he was so close to seeing his beloved pokemon once more.

* * *

Meanwhile, much further away from our intrepid heroes

"Alright this better be worth my time and money," A man said into a microphone from behind reinforced glass. On the far left of the arena was a strange, huge machine, buzzing and beeping away. In the center was a large luminescent brown jewel that seemed to function as the main power source of the machine. It was not on right now.

"Don't worry boss. Just watch the demonstration," another voice said, "First we will show the basic effects of the crystal you picked up." Suddenly the center opened up to reveal a platform moving upward with a lone nidoking standing in the center, shackled down and restrained.

"Nidoking! Hyper Beam now!" the man ordered and after some...incentive, mainly electric shocks from the chains it was wearing, the chained and tortured pokemon fired off a powerful Hyper Beam that collided with the wall and exploded, creating a dent in the heavily armored structure.

"Now activate the machine!" the man said and said machine was slowly warmed up. After a couple of minutes it was ready, but it didn't do anything.

"What is that machine doing! It's obviously broken!" the boss said into the microphone, furious that all of his money had gone to waste.

"Please sir, it's in perfect shape. It's functioning as it should. Watch," another voice said, "Nidoking! Use Hyper Beam again!" The nidoking turned towards the voice, it's eyes devoid of feeling and emotion. It raised its arms and smashed the ground in rage, howling it's displeasure.

"Oh no! Someone must have taken out the original test subject! This one is reacting exactly like the first one did! Take cover!" one of the researchers yelled, his voice filled with fear. The nidoking roared with anger and swung around violently, smashing his holds onto the ground. They broke under the strain and power, freeing the pokemon to exert his wrath upon the torturers.

Giovanni watched with avid fascination. Those chains were supposed to be impossible to break, yet here a pokemon smashed them as if they were toothpicks. That pokemon was now on the loose in the arena, threatening all of the people inside of the facility, including him.

"Lock down! Lock down now!" one of the guards said and the arena was immediately reinforced with more steel doors. There was no possible way for the nidoking to get out...or so they thought.

The nidoking was in a frenzy, smashing into the heavily armored doors in rapid succession. All it seemed to want to do was attack. Then it opened its mouth and fired off another Hyper Beam, which is what they ordered after all, ironically. This time however, the beam was not it's usual orange coloration. It was a powerful vibrant red that struck the walls of the arena and pummeled through it with relative ease, melting through the reinforcement and the original armor. Alarm bells shrilled out that there was a break through, and that all personnel take shelter immediately. The nidoking continued to fire his beam and spread it all around the arena.

"Oh no! It's headed for the machine!" they cried out, unable to do anything about it. As the beam hit the delicate piece of equipment, it made contact with the jewel inside of it. All of a sudden a large wave of energy washed over, them and the machine exploded in a deafening boom, blasting the rampant nidoking.

Minutes passed before the smoke and dust finally cleared. A lone scientist, the head of the project, crawled up to his boss with the utmost humility and fear.

"Sir...I...We..." he stammered, his fear of punishment overtaking him. His boss held up his hand to silence him.

"Well I do see that you are making progress. I will continue to fund this project, but please do make it a little more stable process," he said with a smirk. He was very pleased with the test's results and what he had seen. "Pray that nothing like this happens the next time." The scientist rapidly nodded, extremely relieved that he had not been punished by his ruthless boss.

After all of the debris, smoke and dust had cleared, all that remained was a large crater, an unfortunately dead nidoking, an enormous hole in the wall, and a pristine, perfect brown orb.

* * *

Back to our heroes

They passed by the fields, catching sight of many pokemon playing in the meadow.

'Ash are those all your pokemon!' Latias asked in amazement. She had no idea that Ash had acquired so many pokemon during his journeys.

"Yup," he answered curtly, his mood extremely light and happy due to his return. He saw many of his beloved pokemon and couldn't wait to reunite with them. He broke into a sprint, hopping over the wooden fence, seeing Professor Oak in the background, crouching underneath a tree. They all followed the ever active boy to the aging, wizened Professor.

"Well! Who do we have here!" Professor Oak said with a smile, "Welcome back Ash." Ash smiled appreciatively. Oak was really excited, because he just remembered that Ash had a legendary pokemon with him, just waiting to be studied. He greeted all of the others too, meeting Dawn and catching sight of Latias in her human guise, though he didn't know that.

"How are all my pokemon doing?" Ash asked, hoping everything was running smoothly. The pokemon professor scrunched his face up in hesitance to answer.

"Well...most of them are doing fine...there is one particular one that has been giving me some trouble ever since he got back..." Professor Oak said apprehensively as he peaked around the corner of the tree.

"What is it?" Brock asked, not ever knowing Ash's pokemon to give the professor any trouble.

"Well...errrr...you see..." Professor Oak stumbled, but didn't need to finish as a deafening roar broke the silence of the afternoon, followed by a large column of fire being blasted into the air, heating up the air to an uncomfortable temperature. A large orange dragon-like fire pokemon blasted up into the air, attacking everything in sight.

"Charizard..." Misty whispered, wondering why Charizard was being so aggressive. Pikachu tried shouting to his old friend, but it didn't work as a super-powerful Overheat was sent their way incinerating the tree. They were only safe because Latias had put up a protect at the last minute, which Professor Oak didn't know.

"That pokemon is scary..." Dawn whimpered as Piplup made a heroic stance, declaring that he would protect her.

"What's wrong with him!" Ash exclaimed, never seeing him this aggressive or out of control. The dragon was just randomly firing off random blasts of fire here and there, not even caring what or who he hit.

Then from behind him, a small tap alerted him to a presence.

"Bulbasaur!" Ash greeted, "What's going on!" Bulbasaur greeted Ash and his friends before explaining the situation.

"Charizard has gone nuts! Ever since he got here two days ago, he flies away for the first half of the day and then comes back extremely angry and filled with rage!" Bulbasaur conveyed, "We've taken shelter in various places, while others have attempted to calm him down. So far nothing has worked...Sceptile, Glalie, Corphish and Kingler haven't even been able to take him down! They are all injured and resting further back."

Ash's face contorted in a grimace. What was wrong with Charizard!

"Who else is left to fight?" he asked, hoping that his friends weren't badly hurt.

"I think Bayleef is leading Quilava and Totodile right now. They said they were going to try to stop him." Bulbasaur answered. Ash nodded.

And true to Bulbasaur's word a sudden attack was launched at the flying fire reptile. A Solar Beam, accompanied by a Hydro Pump and Eruption, was headed straight towards Charizard. The fire pokemon turned around and roared with rage, shooting out an extremely powerful Fire Blast.

The humans below shielded their eyes as an explosion flashed in their eyes, negating the attack. Charizard had gotten so strong from his training.

"I've gotta do something!" Ash yelled, "Guys come on out!" Ash's current party appeared, ready for action. "I need you guys to protect everyone else and protect my injured pokemon. Don't let anything happen to them." They nodded, understanding their trainer's orders.

'Ash you can't go out there! It's too dangerous!' Latias pleaded, holding his left hand back.

"Don't worry Tia I got this," Ash said as he ran out into the field, slipping out of her grasp. Latias looked on, hoping that he would be alright.

Now attacks were flying around everywhere. Razor Leaves, Flamethrowers, and Water Guns were combating the hellish fire of the enraged pokemon above, only being semi-successful in stopping the assilants from getting blasted.

"Ash!" Bayleef yelled as she avoided an extremely dangerous Heat Wave, "Get out of here! It's too dangerous!"

"NO! I WON'T LET ANYMORE OF YOU GUYS GET HURT!" Ash roared back, facing the demented Charizard, knowing that the Charizard he knew was still in there somewhere, "Charizard! It's Me! Don't you remember me! Ash!" Charizard looked at him for a second, but then opened his mouth and attacked with a Fire Blast.

"Ash! Watch Out!" Totodile screeched as he sent a Hydro Pump to block the attack. It wasn't powerful enough however as the Fire Blast evaporated the powerful stream of water easily. It looked like Ash was doomed as the deadly fire engulfed him.

"NO!" They all yelled, thinking that he was definitely fried to a crisp now. Charizard kept his attack up, not thinking, not feeling, just angry. Finally, he let up and the attack stopped to reveal a shimmering green shield surrounding Ash, protecting him from danger.

Ash wiped his now sweaty forehead. It took him a lot of energy to maintain his Protect for that long, especially against that power.

"Charizard! Why are you doing this! What's wrong with you!" Ash shouted into the sky, just wishing he could somehow just calm his old friend down.

"NOTHING!" Charizard roared back, attacking once more with his venomous fire, "I HATE ALL OF YOU!" Those who understood him, had no idea why though.

"Why Charizard Why?" Ash screamed back, unable to take the fact that Charizard wanted to hurt everyone. The anguished pokemon didn't answer as it flew around rapidly and randomly, just attacking the sky.

"We have to take him down now!" Bayleef cried over the roar Charizard's attacks. She and the team she lead were banged up pretty badly. Bayleef had suffered the least of them however, and still could fight.

"No!" Ash commanded, "You guy's stay back! I will handle this." They all jumped in surprise.

"What are you doing Ash!" Professor Oak shouted, worried for the welfare of his most promising prodigy who was almost like a grandson to him.

"Don't worry Professor. I got this," Ash said confidently, "Guys go back to them and make sure they are protected. This could get even more dangerous than it is right now." The currently battling pokemon looked at him strangely, but obeyed nonetheless, trusting their trainer to know what to do.

"I'm giving you one more chance to calm down Charizard," Ash called over the fires, "If you won't then I will make you!" Charizard almost laughed at the taunt, but instead just sent a powerful Dragon Rage down towards his trainer. Ash shook his head. "I didn't want it to come to this...but you leave me no choice." The Dragon Rage was once again deflected as Ash put up a hasty Protect.

There was no other way. Charizard needed to be calmed by Ash, or else he would continue. Ash closed his eyes, still safe in the protective barrier. He focused on his hidden energy and released it, transforming.

All those around him who witnessed the transformation for the first time were stunned speechless, but had no time to ask him any questions.

"I won't let you hurt anyone else Charizard," Ash said confidently as he rose into the air to meet Charizard's height, "I challenge you: One on one battle, Me and you." Charizard languidly accepted the challenge, beginning anew his onslaught of attacks, starting with a vicious Steel Wing attack. Charizard almost found it humorous that Ash wanted to challenge him. Ash barely had time to spin out of way, making use of his superior speed.

This battle would only be won by wits and ingenuity and some of Ash's famous luck, seeing as Charizard had much more battle experience than he did. Charizard kept up his attack, coming back with many passes of Steel Wing, Flamethrowers, Fire Blasts, and the repertoire of attacks he had.

"_I can't keep dodging. I need to attack and subdue Charizard,"_ Ash thought desperately as he felt the tips of his wings get lightly singed by a passing Flamethrower attack. It hurt...a lot.

He needed to think like a trainer and act like a pokemon, but that's a hard transition to make; he had to try though.

Ash counterattacked with a powerful Aura Sphere that hurtled towards Charizard at an extremely fast speed. The orange fire pokemon, caught off guard, was hit dead on by the attack, but took minimal damage due to type advantage and his level of training. He narrowed his eyes, now seeing that his challenger was serious about his proposal to fight, roaring in defiance.

"Charizard I don't want to hurt you!" Ash yelled in a last desperate attempt to avoid fighting one of his beloved friends. Charizard wouldn't hear any of it however as he blast forward, propelling himself towards his trainer with murderous intent.

Ash shook his head, knowing now that the only way to get through to Charizard was to defeat him, but he wouldn't hurt him too badly. He only wanted to just defeat him in order to calm him down.

Charizard swooped in with a Flamewheel attack, combining it with his Steel Wing, culminating into a dangerous combination attack. Charizard had apparently learned a lot from his training in the Charicific Valley, but why wasn't he there now?

Ash didn't have time to ponder his question as he sharply dived to avoid the powerful attack, thinking on how to defeat such a powerful and fast adversary. He turned just in time to block a precisely aimed Flamethrower with Protect, but he knew he couldn't continue using his shield to block Charizard's raw power. If he kept that up, he was sure to fail.

Ash flew away from the stream of fire, attacking with rapid Aura Spheres, trying to buy time as Charizard deftly dodged the barrage. The fire-type opened his mouth and attacked with fast Dragon Rages, breaking through Ash's attack. He knew that he wouldn't be able to put up another successful protect this time, and could only rely on dodging. Ash weaved back and forth through the onslaught, flipping, turning and dodging requiring much effort and concentration of him.

Down below, they held their breath as Charizard kept up the attack. So far Ash was doing surprisingly well in dodging, but his luck would only run so far. An explosion was made known to the spectators as they witnessed a ball of dragon energy collide into Ash dead on. He yelped in extreme pain, the attack being super-effective against him and was blasted back. Charizard wouldn't stop there however, he then attacked with a quick Dragon Breath to his chest, servery wounding Ash and depleting his strength.

They watched with horror as Charizard continued to pound Ash with wave after wave of Dragon-type attacks, not giving Ash a chance to retaliate.

"C'MON ASH! YOU CAN DO IT!" Pikachu yelled, hating the sight of his friend's fighting; tears coming to his eyes. The sight was just to gruesome to watch any more. Pikachu's cries encouraged Ash's other friends too, and soon they were yelling their encouragements.

The Black Latios could not hear them however as the sounds of whizzing by Dragon Rages and the din of Charizard's Dragon Breath's drowned them out. Latias, Brock, Misty, Dawn and Professor Oak looked on in complete despair; their voices unable to be heard, allowing Ash to draw strength. Latias closed her eyes, trying to find her endangered trainer's psyche through the storm of attacks.

'C'mon Ash! You can do it! We all believe in you!' Latias thought fiercely, hoping that somehow he would hear him.

Ash grimaced as another blast from a Dragon Breath nicked his left wing. He knew that he was not doing so good at the moment. Then a small sweet voice entered his head, encouraging him and telling him that everyone believed in him. He drew strength and finally smirked as he formulated a plan. He faced Charizard, a new determination filling his face. Ash watched as the green fire from Charizard's Dragon Breath sped closer and closer to him. He smiled one more time as the green fire consumed him, covering him completely.

The spectator's gasped, unable to believe that Ash had been defeated and utterly destroyed. However, as the attack was stopped, there was no Black Latios to be found. Charizard looked around frantically still sensing his combatant.

Ash, invisible, turned around, his Latios face smirking in provocation. Then he shot off with all of the speed of his species, creating a sonic boom as he passed by the fire-pokemon, confusing it in the process. Charizard shook his head, shrugging off the uncomfortable sound wave, trying to concentrate on Ash's location. Ash was just speeding around now, making full use of his abilities. He sped around him in wild circles, continually messing with and befuddling Charizard's senses, confusing it in the process.

Charizard looked around wildly for his opponent, but could not see or hear him. He only knew that he was near. He began to wildly attack with random Flamethrowers, in a ragged form of a counter-shield, hoping to get a lucky shot in. The pokemon Ash left down below had their hands full with stopping his powerful fires and protecting all of them.

Ash didn't like the fact that his friends were in danger, but this was all he wanted: for Charizard to continue wasting his energy. Unbeknownst to the still attacking pokemon, Ash was directly beneath the still raging pokemon, waiting for the right moment to strike. When Charizard finally stopped his deadly stream of flames, Ash shot up like a bullet, using Giga Impact in the process. Charizard looked down to see the attack, covered in purple and yellow light, approaching from below, but would not be able to get out-of-the-way in time. He only had one choice for any success: meet the attack head on with his previous combination attack, hoping that he would have the upper hand.

Ash's eyes widened, not predicting Charizard to be able to react so quickly. There wasn't much choice now; he had to gamble on his own powers again.

The two opposing attacks would collide any second now, and if it stayed as it was, Charizard would surely overpower Ash, and that would mean serious trouble. Then a sudden bright light surrounded Ash, tremendously increasing his power. Now it was Charizard's turn to feel surprised. He could sense the sheer force and power behind the attack, even as untrained as it was, but he had no way to turn back now.

Down below, the spectators held their breath as the two smashed into one another, both sides vying for dominance. A cloud of smoke burst forth hiding them from view; the sounds of clashing energy filling their ears. There was no clear winner for several seconds, but suddenly, out of the smoke, two pokemon were falling like stones; the force of gravity overtaking them. The Black Latios and Charizard were both falling head-first; neither were conscious.

"Oh no! They both fainted! If we can't stop them from hitting the floor, the impact from that height will be fatal!" Professor Oak exclaimed. They had no pokemon that could successfully break a fall from that height; the momentum would overtake the minimal padding they could provide. Snorlax might have been able to do it, but he was too injured from previously battling Charizard to handle that now.

Then Professor Oak fell back as a gush of wind rushed past him, and a red and white dragon took to the skies. He looked back, noticing the absence of one of the girls.

"Brock, Misty, Dawn...was that...?" Professor Oak bumbled, not entirely sure he had seen it right. They nodded in confirmation of what he was about to ask. They could not pay any more attention to the professor at the moment; they were too worried about Ash. They held their breaths as they watched Latias speed towards the rapidly falling form of Ash's Lati and Charizard.

She flew towards Ash, lightly grunting from the weight that was suddenly dumped upon her. Her eyes glowed blue as she surrounded Ash, herself and the other fainted pokemon in her psychic powers and slowly descended to the ground. Once on the ground, she too almost collapsed from the overexertion of her powers, but she had to make sure that Ash was going to be alright.

She floated over to his face, noticing a couple of burns on his wings and claws, a bad bruise on his chest, and many cuts and slashes. Charizard wasn't as nearly beat down as Ash was, but it was still not a pretty sight. She bent her head down to try and get Ash to wake up.

"Ash? Ash! Wake up!" Latias said, some desperation sneaking into her voice as she shook him fiercely. He didn't respond to her shaking at all. The worst fears crept up into Latias as she continued to attempt to resurrect her fallen trainer.

All of the other pokemon and Ash's friends made their way to the fallen pair. Misty and Dawn were clearly crying as they laid their eyes upon the injuries that Ash had sustained. Pikachu tenderly walked up to his best friend, feeling numb and responsible. His other pokemon gathered around them, hoping that they would be alright.

Latias held her claw over his heart, feeling the rapidly declining beats. Latias hid her face as hot tears spilled down her face. It was almost like losing Latios all over again.

'He's...he's dying...' Latias cried out to them. The only emotion that passed over them was shock. Professor Oak rushed to the lab to call Nurse Joy from Viridian to come over immediately.

After many minutes, Charizard began to stir, painfully opening his eyes to the afternoon sun. His body ached and burned with pain and exhaustion. He became aware that he was surrounded by his old friends. He then looked to his left, seeing the macabre sight of his opponent, whom he now remembered was his trainer. Charizard looked at the other injured pokemon, hanging his head in shame, knowing that he had caused this. He looked at the crying red and white dragon floating over Ash, frantically trying to revive him.

"C'mon Ash! Wake up!" Latias cried once more. It was like some hellish nightmare and there was nothing she could do. She threw herself onto his body, crying in earnest now, unable to stop the flow of tears. Her tears flowed down her face and fell onto the triangle on his chest. Latias gasped as she felt Ash's heart beat a bit stronger. She noticed that the strange blue circle in the top corner of his triangle was glowing, a few of her tears gathered there. Latias didn't investigate more however as Ash slowly opened his eyes and groaned in extreme pain.

"Ash! You're alive!" Latias cried, enfolding him in her arms and rubbing her face affectionately against his in happiness. Pikachu ran up and too rubbed his face against Ash's in relief. Misty and Dawn hugged him too, glad that he was now awake. Brock let out a breathe, relieving his tension and worry that he had been holding. His other pokemon voiced their happiness that Ash had survived too, giving off happy calls and grunts.

"Wha...What happened?" Ash asked, still lying on the ground. His body was too beaten to float up right now. Then Ash looked at Charizard, remembering. Ash painfully forced himself to levitate up, receiving much protest from Latias, Dawn, Pikachu, Misty, Brock and all his other pokemon. But Ash knew he needed to finish this.

He floated over to the silent fire-type who was staring at the ground in dullness and disbelief.

"Charizard? You alright?" Ash asked. Charizard couldn't take it anymore and just bowed his head in shame, trying to hold in the tears collecting in his eyes. Even after all he had done to him and to his own friends, Ash wanted to know if HE was alright. He didn't even deserve to call them his friends. He was a murderous, violent, evil, dangerous pokemon who couldn't control himself.

"Stop thinking that!" Ash yelled, somehow able to pick up traces of Charizard's thoughts, "You are not evil or any of those things! And we are your friends, that will never change!" Charizard's eyes bulged, not knowing how Ash had read his mind.

"I don't even deserve to live...You should have left me as a Charmander out in the rain that day..." Charizard muttered. That was the last straw. Ash promptly smacked Charizard with his claws.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT EVER AGAIN!" Ash roared, upset most by the fact that Charizard believed that he was better off dead, "I NEVER REGRET SAVING YOU, AND I NEVER WILL. YOU ARE STILL ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS AND ONE OF THE FIRST. NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE THAT!"

Charizard hung his head, not feeling deserving of Ash's words. Pikachu ran up to Charizard looked him in the eye...and zapped him with a Thunder Bolt.

"HEY! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" Charizard roared. Pikachu's shocks hurt more than a fully grown Zapdos's.

"For being a pretentious dolt! Wake up already!" Pikachu growled out, unable to watch one of his strongest friend's break down like this.

"Shut up!" Chairzard roared, "You don't have any idea what I've been through!" He clammed up after that however, knowing that he let a bit too much out.

Ash and the other pokemon looked at him with confused faces. Then one question broke Charizard down again.

"Hey? Why aren't you are Charicific Valley Charizard?" Bayleef asked, not knowing what she would unleash. Charizard roared, this time not filled with hate and anger, but with a deep sadness. They surrounding pokemon and humans could not believe what they were witnessing; Charizard was crying.

'Everyone leave...' Ash commanded mentally, needing to have a talk with Charizard. Bayleef, Pikachu and Latias shook their heads, not wanting to leave.

"I'm not leaving you right after what happened Ash," Latias said firmly, feeling protective and worried. Bayleef said she wanted to talk to Charizard too because she had asked the question. Pikachu just wanted to stay and help his friend.

The others obliged however as each pokemon and human left the scene, leaving them space to talk.

Charizard had turned away from them so that they would not be able to see his tears. He had already shamed himself enough in front of his friends.

"Charizard...What happened?" Bayleef timidly asked, trying to remedy her mistake. Charizard gritted his teeth, unable to express what he needed. Bayleef sighed, but extended one of her vines to wipe the tears off of Charizard's face, still trying to comfort him.

"Charizard...is it about...Charla?" Ash asked quietly, remembering Charizard's love interest. At her name, Charizard wailed with pity and depression. Latias grimaced, feeling his deep melancholy ripple through her. Pikachu didn't like where this might be going at all, fearing the worst.

"Charizard...did you make her your mate?" Pikachu asked quietly. Charizard remained silent, unable to cope and not wishing to answer. Ash looked at Pikachu strangely, not familiar with his terminology, but put it aside because there were more pressing questions he needed to ask.

"Charizard...what happened between you and Charla...?" Ash asked, this time a little more forcefully. After much time he answered.

"I...was her mate..." Charizard ground out, his fist's clenching in anger, but unknown to them, his hate was directed towards...himself.

"Wait...was?" Latias asked with worry. This sounded very bad indeed. The others were wondering the same thing.

"When...when...she was alive...I was..." Charizard choked out, unable to hold it back anymore, "It's my fault...all my fault.." This time the dragon-like pokemon just let his tears fall. Remembering what had happened was just too painful.

"Wha...what happened?" Bayleef asked, fearful of the true answer. Charizard shook his head; he just couldn't continue yet. They looked at him, sharing his sadness and mourning.

"Give him time guys...He will tell us when he is ready...Let's go in," Pikachu answered, giving time to Charizard to clear his head. They nodded. Ash decided to stay in his Latios form for now, because he didn't think it would be a smart idea to transform into a human with the injuries he had.

They gave Charizard a moment to compose himself, and then all together rejoined their friends. On the way again, Ash felt that strange foreboding feeling, and he didn't like it one bit.

* * *

Sooooo sorry for the long wait! I've been busy!

*Bows down a hundred times in apology*

**A/N**

**I don't know how many times people have asked me if Ash will end up with Latias AND Misty... **

**This is for final clarification – no! He will not end up with both of them! Only one!**

**End A/N**

Anyway, phew...this chapter was really long and had a lot of interesting things in it. The plot is just rollin on now!

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

-Mekon


	9. Ch8: In the Darkness of the Night

**DISCLAIMER**

If my ownership were an attack, it would be equal to using Psychic on a dark-type.

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

"_Charizard...what happened between you and Charla...?" Ash asked, this time a little more forcefully. After much time he answered._

"_I...was her mate..." Charizard ground out, his fist's clenching in anger, but unknown to them, his hate was directed towards...himself._

"_Wait...was?" Latias asked with worry. This sounded very bad indeed. The others were wondering the same thing. _

"_When...when...she was alive...I was..." Charizard choked out, unable to hold it back anymore, "It's my fault...all my fault.." This time the dragon-like pokemon just let his tears fall. Remembering what had happened was just too painful._

"_Wha...what happened?" Bayleef asked, fearful of the true answer. Charizard shook his head; he just couldn't continue yet. They looked at him, sharing his sadness and mourning._

"_Give him time guys...He will tell us when he is ready...Let's go in," Pikachu answered, giving time to Charizard to clear his head. They nodded. Ash decided to stay in his Latios form for now, because he didn't think it would be a smart idea to transform into a human with the injuries he had. _

_They gave Charizard a moment to compose himself, and then all together rejoined their friends. On the way again, Ash felt that strange foreboding feeling, and he didn't like it one bit._

* * *

Ch9: In the Darkness of the Night

Quiet, the only sound that they heard during the entire walk back. It was strange to experience such peace and tranquility, especially given their current state of residence. It wasn't the peaceful kind of quiet either. No. This silence held some strange foreboding power that seemed to pervade and invade their very cores, causing them to hurry back to the others.

They arrived, a bit out of breath due to the rush, but hearing more lively and active sounds was a relief in that strange moment of utter dark silence. Behind them the sun was beginning to sink, casting up its daily light show of dancing colors for all to see. Ash, Latias, Pikachu, Charizard and Bayleef deposited themselves, happy to be back with the rest of the group.

Another silence filled the air however. Each pokemon and human could sense it. The almost unearthly feeling of a momentous event about to occur.

"Ummmm It's not just me feeling this weird chill right?" Dawn asked, a bit scared. Piplup agreed that he felt strange too.

"No...I feel it too..." Misty said, a bit frightened by the unwelcome sensations rippling through her. Brock nodded, a bit uncomfortable himself. They were interrupted however by an easily recognizable voice.

"Alright! Where are those poor pokemon that were in danger!" a soft voice cried, her voice full of concern. They whirled around, all knowing who that voice belonged too.

"NURSE JOY! MY DEAREST LOVE! YOU'VE COME BACK TO ME!" Brock cried out, remembering exactly who she was and where she was from.

"Ack! I wish...the...feeling...in...my...body...would...come...back...to..me." Brock moaned, one mandatory Poison Jab later as he was dragged away by his Croagunk. The pokemon and humans sweat-dropped, still wondering why they were amazed at Brock's quick change in attitude.

Nurse Joy then caught sight of the beat up Charizard and an even worse looking...well, she didn't know what, but it still needed her help. She noticed the other similar looking pokemon supporting it, except that it was red. She ushered the excess pokemon and humans away, telling them that she needed room to work. Even Pikachu left to give Nurse Joy her space. Latias didn't, however, but Nurse Joy ignored it, assuming things.

"Alright stay still," Nurse Joy soothed as she told Ash to lay down. She really needed to bandage him up.

'It's alright Nurse Joy,' Ash told her, 'I think I can manage by myself.' Nurse Joy jumped up in surprise, thinking that she had heard a voice. She shrugged it off, but jumped again, not as badly as before, however, when Ash repeated his statement.

"Are you saying that?" Nurse Joy asked, unsure of whether or not the pokemon in from of her could communicate so easily.

'Well I didn't exactly say it. I just projected my thoughts to you that's all,' Ash responded with a bit of humor in his voice.

"No matter, you still need to get bandaged up," Nurse Joy said trying to return to her job at hand. She needed to tend to the wounded Charizard as well. Ash insisted that he was fine, completely uncomfortable with Nurse Joy touching him in such a manner, even just to bandage him. Nurse Joy shook her head.

"Alright then get your mate to help you then. I'm sure you would be okay with that," Nurse Joy said as she passed the bandages to the red dragon, assuming that if they were intelligent enough to speak, they would be smart enough to know how to use bandages. She moved on the Charizard, not noticing the deep blush that spread across both dragon's faces. Charizard cringed a bit at the word 'mate', but couldn't help but chuckle at both of the dragon's faces.

"Stay still Charizard. There's nothing wrong with getting your mate to help you anyway," Nurse Joy continued, her back turned to the two eon dragons. Charizard almost exploded in laughter at the sight of Ash and Latias reddening even more than before, covering their faces with their claws in an attempt to hide. Ash might not have known exactly what Nurse Joy meant by "mate", but he could piece together a basic understanding.

Latias tried to control herself and tentatively floated over to Ash to dress his wounds. She was still blushing, but she needed to bandage her trainer up, since he didn't want Nurse Joy to do it.

"Um...you don't mind do you Ash?" Latias asked, wanting to make sure that her trainer was okay with her bandaging him up. He nodded dumbly, not trusting his own voice right now.

Ash looked away, unable to quell his raging blush. It didn't help that Latias was gently tending to him at all however, and he buried his face into the ground. Another ten minutes passed and the soft touch disappeared.

"Done..." Latias whispered, her voice usually high. Ash shifted his weight to look at her handiwork. The bandages were neatly placed and clean; she had done a good job.

"Thanks Latias..." Ash breathed out. He looked into her eyes, hoping to convey his true gratitude, but got caught in the way they seemed to sparkle and dance in the afternoon light; her amber orbs glistening and shining in the afternoon sun, like jewels untouched and unmarred, perfect in every way possible.

"Cough cough," Charizard bluntly interjected, "If you two love-dragons are done, we need to head back."

"Shut it Charizard..." Ash mumbled as he turned away, his face emblazoned with a new red.

"Oh? No denial this time around eh Ash?" Charizard said in a mocking tone. Ash turned and glared at him, and then he tripped his orange dragon-like fire-type pokemon with a little Psychic power, by 'gluing' his feet to the floor. Charizard landed on the ground with a thud, more pain coming from his wounds.

"ow..." Charizard moaned, causing Nurse Joy to reprimand him for being so clumsy. Ash smirked in satisfaction as he floated away, leaving Charizard on the floor. Latias rolled her eyes as she floated after her trainer, ecstatically happy inside.

* * *

Nurse Joy left in a hurry, saying that there would be other people waiting for her back in Viridian, but not after leaving enough supplies and instructions to tend to Ash and Charizard. She waved goodbye as she flew back to Viridian on a Pidgeot that she borrowed from the center, telling them to make sure to take the medicine and get better.

"And NO! BATTLING!" Nurse Joy yelled as she disappeared from sight.

"That means you Charizard," Bayleef said with a smile. Charizard snorted, deciding to ignore that jibe and rest underneath the shade of a nearby tree. This was a perfect time for Ash to introduce some of his new pokemon.

"Anyways, I want you guys to meet some of my new friends," Ash said to his past caught pokemon, "This is Infernape, Torterra, Buizel, Gliscor and Gible." He gestured to each one respectively as he said this. Ash's pokemon greeted them happily, glad that they had new friends to play with.

"Hey, What about me," Latias said, feigning hurt.

"And this is Latias," Ash responded smiling. The pokemon gathered around to get a look at the strange pokemon.

"Hey! You're the really pretty legendary dragon from that place with the water chariot racing," Totodile gushed remembering her from his trip in Altomare. Latias flushed, flattered by the small water-pokemon's remark. (1)

"Hey cool it Totodile. She's already taken," Charizard said with a grin as he folded his arms, eager to tease his trainer again.

"Really? Who?" Totodile asked with child-like innocence. "Do I know him?"

"Yup. None other than our trainer of course," Charizard answered with a provocative grin. Ash and Latias promptly used Psychic on him to face-plant him onto the ground. The damage was done however.

"Wow! When did you mate her? How was the courting? I wanna see the mark!" Totodile said jumping around. Ash and Latias face-palmed, glaring daggers at the grinning orange dragon-like pokemon. They didn't see Bayleef cringe behind them.

"Hey, hey, Calm down," Latias said, "We aren't mated or courting..." There was a sense of longing in her voice, however, that Ash clearly did not catch.

"Awww But when you guys do become mates, tell me first!" Totodile said grinning with his full mouth of teeth. Latias and Ash groaned in frustration.

"I blame you for all of this," Latias said looking at Charizard.

"Glad I could help then," he responded cheekily as he stood up slowly as to not re-open his wounds.

"Uhhhhh If you guys are done. It's time to eat," Brock said. He had been waiting for them to finish their little talk for a while now. Mrs. Ketchum had come over to the lab, deciding to bring dinner with her. Therefore, they all decided to eat there.

'Yes! I'm starved!' Ash exclaimed, preparing to rush into the building for the food. Latias held him back by surrounding him in her Psychic attack however.

'Not a good idea in that form Ash,' Latias said with a smile. Ash nervously laughed, forgetting that he was in his Latios form at the moment and couldn't change back yet.

"Yeah, Latias is right...Hold on," Brock said as he rushed inside. A few minutes later Professor Oak, Mrs. Ketchum, Dawn, Misty and Brock were all walking out the door. Brock and Professor Oak were holding a large fold-out table while the girls were holding the food.

"Ahhh, It's much nicer out here!" Mrs. Ketchum exclaimed and then she caught sight of Ash, "Oh my goodness! Ash what did you do to yourself!"

'Long story mom...' Ash answered curtly, really not wanting to go into details. Delia decided to let it go for now, but she would surely fuss over him later. Ash looked like he was going to be fine so it rested easy on her conscience for the time being. Brock and Professor Oak set out the tables and returned with chairs. Some of Ash's pokemon had followed them in, assisting in the movement of the furniture. Soon after, Professor Oak came out with a couple of tiki torches, allowing Infernape and Quilava to light them. The whole setup gave the area a warm and pleasant glow, and the soft wind carried the delicious scent of dinner to everyone there.

"I should really eat outside more often!" Professor Oak joked, liking the new dining arrangements much more than the inside of his laboratory.

"Well it is a beautiful night!" Delia answered looking up into the stars. They all agreed.

"Alright then, before we start eating," Brock said, "C'mon out guys!" Brock released all of his pokemon, each greeting the ones they didn't know. Dawn and Misty followed the rising breeder's lead and released all of their pokemon. They were lucky they were outside because they had plenty of space to call out some of the bigger pokemon they owned.

"Wonder where Ash's Snorlax is..." Misty thought out loud, not remembering ever catching sight of the large food-loving pokemon.

"Oh! That's right," Professor Oak said as he scrambled inside. He returned with a pokeball. "I needed Snorlax's help to stop all the stampeding Tauros. You wouldn't believe the chaos they caused when Charizard first starting attacking." Charizard looked away guiltily, gluing his eyes to the floor. "I think Snorlax deserves a reward though don't you?" They nodded as Professor Oak released the giant pokemon. After the light disappeared, it revealed a humongous Snorlax in a very deep slumber. They sweat-dropped, expecting Snorlax to be awake to eat. They were sure that Snorlax would wake up soon when it was surrounded by so much delicious food.

'Lets Eat!' Ash exclaimed as he hurried to get some food.

"Dig in everyone!" Delia responded, happy that she had people enjoying her cooking. The humans took a seat while the pokemon ate comfortable in the grass, including Ash.

Throughout the dinner they talked about many things: their adventures, the people they met, the pokemon then saw. They especially talked about Ash's remarkable transformation and the legendary pokemon that he had with him.

"So Ash. Tell me how you caught Latias in the first place," Professor Oak asked, extremely intrigued on Ash's methods to catching a legendary pokemon.

'Well I didn't so much catch her. She kinda wanted to come with me. So I let her," Ash said, not exactly knowing how to put it.

"Hmmm extraordinary. How long have you known her?" Professor Oak questioned. Ash thought for a moment.

'Well I met her over 2 years ago...' Ash responded, having a bit of trouble remembering exactly. Professor Oak nodded in understanding. He then turned to Latias.

"I've always wanted to study a legendary pokemon such as yourself. They are just so mysterious and full of secrets to be unlocked," Professor Oak said, beginning to dream, "Now I have two I can study!" They shook their heads at Professor Oak's dreaming.

"You won't get much luck with Ash. He still knows almost as much as he did five years ago," Misty said with a cheeky smile.

'Hey! I've gotten better! And smarter!' Ash protested. They laughed at the boy's typical response to Misty's jibe.

"What I really want to know is how exactly you gained those powers of yours Ash," Professor Oak followed up. Ash sighed. This was really really really getting old.

'Alright Latias lets try this again,' Ash said looking towards the female eon situated on his right. She nodded as her eyes turned blue with Psychic power and connected with Ash for the second time.

"What's going on..." Professor Oak said as the scenery melted away into a very dark blue. They watched, some once again, as Ash talked to a large blue dragon while holding a strange jewel.

"Ash what's going on?" Professor Oak asked again as he placed his hand on Ash's shoulder. He balked as his hand passed straight through the boy, like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands.

"Shh. Just watch professor," A loud voice said which was recognized to be Ash. The pokemon professor complied and watched the transformation of Ash into the Black Latios. It explained, at least arbitrarily, what had occurred. Soon the scene melted away to the previous environment.

"What was that?" the professor asked, full of curiosity and wonderment.

'Memory projection,' Ash said simply, deciding that the name was appropriate. To say Professor Oak was astonished would be an understatement.

"Amazing! Extraordinary! The ability to visit others' memories is nothing less than remarkable! I must make note of this!" Professor Oak swooned. They sweat dropped at professor Oak's overcharged enthusiasm.

Overall the whole dinner went on without a hitch, full of laughter, smiles and epic retelling of tales. But one lone pokemon, as green as envy itself, was brooding and staring hard, her eyes reflecting red and white.

* * *

Night was soon upon them, covering the world in its thick blanket filled with holes that still let the light shine through. Ash and his friends walked back to his house, their stomachs full and satisfied. They all prepared for bed, happy to be safe and warm for once after their long travels. Well Brock, Dawn and Misty would be.

"Alright. Brock you can take the pull-out bed in the living room. Dawn you can have the guest room. Misty you can sleep with Dawn," Delia said, pointing respectively to the places she mentioned.

'I can't believe I can't sleep in my own bed!' Ash complained, his thoughts filtering through the window he was looking through from the outside.

"Now, Ash dear. You know you can't change back into your human form for a while. You'll have to sleep outside," Ash's mother said regretfully, "But I'll set up something in the backyard, just to make you feel a bit more at home." (hah, such irony) Ash sighed, but didn't complain, knowing that his mother was right.

'Fine fine,' Ash conceded, flying around the house into the backyard where his mother was setting up some blankets on the grass underneath one of their bigger trees.

"Alright, lights out in twenty mister," Delia said, "I'll make sure to check later!" Ash rolled his eyes, used to the routine. She retreated back into the house, a secretive smile on her face.

"You sleeping out here tonight too Pikachu?" Ash asked to the small yellow mouse residing on the floor.

"Hah! And miss having your nice warm bed all to myself? No thank you!" Pikachu said as he sped off into the house.

'Traitor!' Ash responded. That left only Latias.

"Err..." Ash said a bit awkwardly, not knowing at all what to say.

"You better get some sleep...You need the rest," Latias answered, as she gently, but forcefully, laid Ash down on the blankets.

"Where are you going to sleep Latias?" Ash asked a bit concerned.

"I've slept on grass plenty of times. I'll manage," she answered curtly. Ash didn't comment as he watched the legendary eon lay herself down on the grass out from the cover of the tree.

Unfortunately, the wind seemed to want to be moving quickly this night so it was a little chilly. Latias lightly shivered in the breeze and Ash sighed.

"C'mon. You can sleep next to me," Ash said looking at the ground, a small blush gracing his face. Latias beamed as she floated over and laid herself down right next to her secret love. She pulled the blanket over them and sighed in happiness.

"Thank you...Goodnight Ash..." Latias breathed out as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek with a smile and a light blush. She turned and closed her eyes to sleep. Ash laid there, stunned for a second, but slowly returned to the real world.

"Goodnight Latias..." Ash responded in a whisper. He stayed up for a bit, just watching the stars and moon dance in the night sky. It all seemed so peaceful, and yet...that feeling just kept badgering him. Eventually however, he let himself slip into that trap that is sleep and slumber.

Another twenty minutes later, Mrs. Ketchum crawled out of the house, as she promised. She walked over to the sleeping place and sighed upon the sight that greeted her. She did tell him to never sleep with girls before he was married, but she couldn't help but get a good feeling from this girl so she let it slide ONLY because she was there to supervise. Plus, she was really cute. Mrs. Ketchum gave a small smile though as she took out a camera.

"You're growing up so fast honey..."

* * *

In the middle of the night.

Latias groaned as she felt something tap her head. She lazily opened one eye, but soon fell back asleep. Then she was rudely awakened by a very strong smack on her head.

"Ow!" Latias cried out, not awake. She looked to the left to make sure Ash had not woken up. She needn't have worried because the Black Latios was sound asleep. She looked up to see a large blob of green against black.

"Bayleef?" Latias whispered in astonishment. The grass pokemon didn't respond. "What was that for!" The grass pokemon merely huffed. "What do you want?"

"A battle," Bayleef answered simply, a fierce determination upon her face.

"What! Why! And at this time too!" Latias exclaimed, almost forgetting to keep her voice down.

"It's obvious isn't it?" Bayleef said simply, envy clouding her judgment, "for Ash of course." Latias was taken aback, but soon a determination appeared on her face too.

"I won't fight you. And I won't give up on Ash either!" Latias hissed, now understanding that Bayleef wished to assert a claim. "You're Ash's pokemon, and I am too. I won't fight one of Ash's friends."

"Then give up your claim on him!" Bayleef demanded, a fire in her eyes. Latias didn't know what to do. She didn't want to fight, but she would never give up Ash either.

"No. I won't, and I still won't fight you for him," she answered firmly. Bayleef growled.

"Then I'll make you fight!" the grass pokemon declared as she launched a Razor Leaf attack at Latias. Latias jumped in surprise. She had to protect herself and Ash. She threw up a powerful Protect that deflected all of the oncoming Razor Leafs. Bayleef didn't stop there however as she charged and Body Slammed the shield, breaking through it.

Latias gasped and reacted instinctively as she surrounded Bayleef in her Psychic attack flinging her back. She rose and hurriedly floated away from Ash.

"Stop Bayleef! I don't want to fight you!" Latias pleaded again, hoping that maybe she could get through to the stubborn grass-type. She could sense so much jealously and anger in the grass pokemon and wished that she could take it away.

"I will fight you! And I will win!" Bayleef declared, ignoring Latias completely as she extended her vines in a Vine Whip attack. Latias gritted her teeth, knowing that she was facing a much more experienced battler. But still, she was a legendary pokemon for Mew's sake. Latias rocketed up into the sky where she had the advantage, moving out of range of Bayleef's vines. Bayleef growled, as she launched wave after wave of Razor Leaf, all of which were dodged easily by Latias.

"Come down here and fight!" Bayleef goaded, loosing all advantage to the flying dragon.

"No," Latias answered curtly. She needed Ash's help now to calm Bayleef, but she was too far away to reach him. Plus, Bayleef was standing right in-between them. There was one thing to do.

Bayleef grit her teeth as Latias disappeared from sight, just like when Ash was fighting Charizard. Her fears that Latias possessed the same abilities as Ash, were confirmed. She was prepared however.

Latias flew towards Ash, not minding her opponent at all. Suddenly, she was thrown back as she felt an attack connect with her chest. She groaned in pain.

"Turning invisible won't help you escape my Magical Leaf," Bayleef jeered, feeling triumphant. Latias grimaced, trying to fight off desperation. She had to find a way to stop Bayleef from attacking her.

Dodging a couple more attacks from the volatile grass type, Latias finally formulated a plan.

"Give up already!" Bayleef yelled, tiring from all the attacks she had put forth. Not even she was trained enough to last this long with constant attacking. Bayleef paused for a breath and that's when Latias took advantage of her exhaustion. The eon dragon quickly formed an attack in her claws, and fired.

Bayleef jumped in surprise as she sensed the attack approaching. She quickly dodged it as the attack collided with the ground.

"You missed," the green pokemon chided, mocking Latias' aim.

"Doesn't really matter to me," Latias announced, cool-headed and completely confident. Bayleef looked at the legendary dragon strangely and then looked at the attack. She gasped as she noticed it was covered in a blue light, but it was too late. The Mist Ball exploded as Latias released the Pshychic attack on it, redirecting it all towards Bayleef. Then she sped towards Ash, making sure to keep Bayleef in the mist.

Bayleef could feel her strength being sapped and tired her hardest to escape. She ran straight through, but Latias kept moving the cloud of psychic energy with her mind. It was basically endless, but it would soon disapate.

"Ash wake up!" Latias yelled as she shook him vigorously. Ash lazily opened one eye but then fell back into his deep sleep. "Grr! Why do you have to sleep so deeply!" The eon decided to move to Misty's methods, which were almost one-hundred percent effective. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Latias looked over her shoulder, sensing her attack fading. She redirected all of the mist into a large solid wall, blocking Bayleef's path and view. She had only seconds to revive her trainer.

Latias quickly covered Ash's body in a Pshychic attack, lifted him off of the ground and spun him round and round in a football spin. After the third turn, Ash finally awoke.

"Whaaaaa!" Ash yelled as he noticed he was off of the ground and moving too. Latias quickly cut off the power and put him back on the ground. "Whaaaattsss goingg onnn Latiasss?" Ash was just a bit dizzy from his prior treatment.

"Quick Ash! Bayleef is..." Latias said, but couldn't finish as a large powerful white beam slammed her into the tree that Ash was resting underneath resounding with a loud thud.

"LATIAS!" Ash exclaimed, now completely awake and aware. He hurried over to the hurt female eon and helped her onto the ground.

"Ash...Bayleef..." Latias groaned as she laid on the ground, her body racked with pain. Ash didn't have the faintest clue what Latias was talking about, but soon some understanding came to him as he turned left.

"Bayleef! What are you doing!" Ash yelled, completely upset now. Given a moment to think about it, Ash remembered Bayleef's overweening jealousy as a Chikorita and feared that that same jealousy had returned here. He reasoned that something probably took her over the edge to act like this however.

Bayleef didn't answer, but just stood there for a minute. Then... she ran.

Ash shook himself, trying to make out the situation at hand. He was clueless as to why Latias and Bayleef were fighting in the first place. From what it looked like though, Bayleef seemed to be attacking Latias.

"Latias you okay?" Ash asked as he stooped down to eye level with the red eon dragon. She weakly nodded as she slowly got up.

"We need...to go after Bayleef," Latias said as she took to the skies, trying to ignore the fast throbbing of her injuries. Ash tried to get Latias to rest but she would hear nothing about it. Ash gave in as he too joined her in the search for Bayleef, hoping that somehow they could fix everything and all come to an understanding.

* * *

Ash and Latias flew as fast as their injuries would allow, trying to find traces of the fleeing grass pokemon. She had fled into the forest, hiding herself with the treeline however.

"Let's split up," Ash yelled over the roaring wind, "We'll find her faster that way!" Latias nodded as they diverged, telling Ash to meet up back at the tree if they couldn't locate her.

Latias scanned the ground, flying slowly to make sure she would not miss any details of the forest below. But what worried her most was how she would confront Bayleef if she did happen to locate her.

The scene from just twenty minutes ago kept replaying in her head in an endless loop, continuously reminding her of Bayleef's rage and jealously which did scare her a bit. Latias was sure though that Bayleef wasn't like that normally, and that something had to have triggered her wrath. The red eon dragon swooped down into the forest, still not noticing any visible sign of Bayleef's prior presence there.

Then, Latias stopped as she noticed a large area of trees marred with fine thin gashes across their trunks. Looking further ahead, she caught sight of bright fallen leaves lying upon the ground. Upon closer examination, she recognized them to be Bayleef's Razor Leaves. Latias took a deep breath, knowing that another fateful encounter would soon take place between herself and Ash's Bayleef. She only hoped that there would be a different outcome this time.

So Latias flew further into the scarred forest, each second seeming to take longer than the one before it. Finally, she stopped, pausing to listen, believing that she had heard a sound. Stealthily, she followed the sound to it's source; the sound amplifying with every foot. Soon she could make out the sound: crying. Latias peered around the fallen trees, stopping dead in her tracks as she came upon the sight of a crumpled up Bayleef, lying on the ground in utter depression, sobbing in earnest.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Bayleef moaned as she smashed her head on the ground in self-penance, "Why did you have to do that! You know you promised to let him go!" Latias watched with amazement, stunned by Bayleef's self-inflicted punishment. Bayleef continued to berate herself harshly, trying to throw off the pain that inflicted her heart with physical pain.

By this point, Latias couldn't bear any more. Sometimes, Latias wished she didn't possess the power to sense other people's emotions, because she would be spared from moments like this. Nonetheless, the red eon knew that she had to help.

She floated over, a little hesitant to alert the grass type to her presence, fearing that Bayleef still held some animosity towards her. Eventually though, Bayleef did notice her floating near. She tensed, trying to hold down her tears of regret.

"Bayleaf..." Latias soothed, "I'm not mad...if that's what you need to hear first." Bayleef shook her head, feeling a bit relieved, but not enough to take away her sorrow. Latias gave a small sad smile, sympathetic to the pokemon she was addressing. She sat down, letting the silence wash over them and the stars shine, giving peace to the resident pokemon. After much time, Latias spoke.

"Bayleef...you really love Ash don't you?" Latias asked, her face warm and understanding. Slowly, Bayleef sadly nodded, not regretting admitting it, but rather regretting that she would never be able to be with him. She had been given one rare opportunity, however, and that was telling Ash her feelings. The grass pokemon had thought she would never get the chance to even do that.

"I'm sorry..." Latias answered, knowing full well the situation that Bayleef had found herself in. She had believed herself to be in the position before.

"You shouldn't be..." Bayleef responded, "I'm the one who lost it and attacked. I was so jealous of you...I...I couldn't control myself...I saw you two sleeping under the tree... and I lost it." Small tears escaped the grass-type's eyes. Latias understood now why Bayleef had become so enraged.

"Hah, jealous of me," Latias scoffed, "What can I do? Compared to you, I can barely do anything. You're strong and powerful and beautiful. Me? I don't even know how to battle correctly," Bayleef shook her head.

"That's not what I'm jealous of...knowing how to battle doesn't make you strong and powerful. Ash can teach you that. It's your heart. And mine was so weak, succumbing to the poison of envy so easily..." Bayleef lamented, "And you are beautiful. You are a legendary pokemon too. You're just so perfect...for...Ash." Bayleef looked away, hot tears streaming down her face. Just acknowledging that was a hard feat in itself: a high price on her already taxed heart. Latias smiled sadly, psychically wiping away Bayleef's tears.

"I don't know what else to say..." Latias answered, no conciliatory phrase coming into mind, nor any comforting sentence.

"It's okay. I know..." Bayleef answered, slowly getting up "All I want is for Ash to be happy...And I know... that if you ever do tell him...he will be." The red eon dragon shed a few tears of her own, knowing full well that Bayleef had made a huge sacrifice, renouncing her claim on Ash.

"I will...if he ever chooses me," Latias answered, "I promise. And remember...you're Ash's pokemon too. He loves you and still cares." Bayleef nodded, her heart clenching, but she knew if she had defeated Latias, removing her as an opponent to Ash's affections, she would have committed the most selfish act. She saw that Ash would be happy with her and now it was all up to them to make it happen. So Bayleef was satisfied, knowing she had made the right choice.

"C'mon," Latias said facing the trees, "Lets find Ash." Bayleef nodded, a bit more energy in her step. "He's probably lost by now." And Bayleef laughed, her giggles resounding around the forest, dulling the edge of her sadness to only a blunt throb. Latias knew that the leaf pokemon would be okay.

* * *

Ash scratched his head as he surveyed the land from up above in the sky. It was much easier to find your way if you could fly, lucky for him. He was sure tired now though, his injuries being the main toll on his body. Plus, he wasn't much of an early riser.

"_Man! I hope Latias found Bayleef. I just can't go on much longer!" _Ash thought to himself as he struggled to stay air-borne. He took note of his surroundings once more and found the direction in which he would travel to return to where he was before. He paused for a moment however, a sudden gleam catching his eye. Abruptly, it just disappeared. He scrunched his face up in confusion, shrugged his shoulder's and continued on his way. Then, he looked back again, feeling as if he were being followed. He looked around, circling in place, to double check that he was indeed alone. No other signs came to his attention, but just in case, he sped away as fast as he could, trying to leave behind some of the dark feelings he thought he had sensed.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"Ash! Over here!" Latias cried as she floated above the trees directly above Bayleef. The sounds of a second pokemon flying near were tell-tale signs of his approach. Bayleef sighed as she laid her eyes on her trainer with his new form.

"_If only he had turned into a Tropius or something," _Bayleef thought to herself shaking her head.

"Did you find Bayleef?" Ash asked, not having caught sight of the grass-type down below. Latias nodded as she gestured towards the ground. He nodded, motioning for her to follow. Bayleef put on her best smile, hoping to conceal her sadness as best she could. Plus, she always smiled when Ash was around.

"Hi Ash," Bayleef greeted, walking forward towards him slowly. Ash grinned.

"What no hug?" Ash added jokingly, at which Bayleef and Latias smiled at genuinely. The eon dragon cocked her head in a message that obviously said, "go ahead". Bayleef, nodded appreciatively, rushed up and Body Slammed her trainer, just like old times. He laughed, glad that his friend was alright now.

"So is everything alright now?" Ash asked as Bayleef hopped off of him, making sure that there were no further problems.

"Yup. Don't worry about it anymore Ash. It's all fixed now," Latias interjected, not wishing for Ash to probe into her and Bayleef's prior conversation. Ash decided to let it go, knowing that if it was important, he would learn about it eventually.

"Alright then," Ash said as he floated back up and looked towards Professor Oak's lab, "We'll walk you back to Profesor Oak's okay Bayleef?" Bayleef happily accepted and Latias too agreed, not bothered in the slightest. And so Ash and his two friends made their way through the forest in the dark. Ash hadn't told them the other reason he wanted to go to Oak's lab, however, and he consistently looked behind him, sensing danger was lurking in the shadows just waiting to strike.

* * *

"Hurry up Ash!" Bayleef yelled at a lagging Ash who seemed to constantly turn around to stare behind him. Bayleef looked at Latias, trying to deduce the cause of Ash's strange behavior.

"Something wrong Ash?" Latias asked, sensing his deep worry and anxiety.

"Huh?" Ash stammered turning around, "Oh nothing." Ash remained observant as they walked on to the lab, periodically checking behind him still. Bayleef and Latias gave up on figuring out what Ash was worrying about.

Finally, they arrived at the lab with most of Ash's pokemon sleeping. Noctowl greeted the three happily, just coming back from his midnight hunt. Then a voice pieced the early morning silence.

"Bayleef!" Bulbasaur scolded, "Where have you been? I was doing the morning check, and you were no where in sight." Bayleef bowed her head down, guilty. She also had promised to help him do the morning check and obviously forgot.

"Sorry Bulbasaur," Bayleef said, rubbing the back of her head uncomfortably with her vine, "I was err..." Bulbasaur didn't need the larger grass-type to tell him what had basically happened however. He could deduce the situation from the two legendary dragons floating nearby.

"Alright alright. I got it. Check up on the others," Bulbasaur answered, dismissing Bayleef, saving her from answering his question in full. The Leaf pokemon nodded, running off to do her morning duties.

"Is there like a rule against pokemon leaving at night Bulbasaur?" Latias asked once Bayleef got out of range. Bulbasaur shook his head.

"Of course not. All of us are free to go where we want on the lab, but lately the nearby wild pokemon have been un-ordinarily aggressive. We have agreed to stick together during the nights to make sure no one is hurt or gets attacked." he responded in all seriousness. And it was very true. All of Ash's pokemon, even the newcomers, were sleeping in vicinity.

"Aggressive?" Ash asked, not liking the sound of it at all. Latias was confused; she didn't sense any pokemon aggression and hatred around her at all.

"Yeah. We have been able to drive them off without batting though," the small grass type responded, "We really knew some of them well though. Yet...they became as aggressive as the others."

_'It almost sounds like...like that night on the ship!' _Ash thought to himself. But if this was like the event that transpired at the ship...that only meant that...

Ash couldn't finish that thought however, turning in alarm. That sensation again was approaching, faster than ever before. He also sensed he had nowhere to run to; they were surrounded.

He shivered as what he feared finally collided into him, fear and chill invading him. Then it disappeared. This was not good at all. He looked to his two pokemon, and they too had obviously felt that strange wave, shrugging it off with much discomfort.

"What was that?" Bulbasaur asked, not missing the feeling of whatever that was at all.

"No idea," Ash responded, "But I get the feeling that we are about to have some company soon." That was all it took, and Bulbasaur shot off to warn the others, his footsteps drowned out by a thundering march of pokemon coming from the forest.

Ash tensed as he watched shadows rise out of the darkness of the forest and take shape. Just by looking at their eyes, he knew...they were here to destroy them.

* * *

Far off in Ash's bedroom

Pikachu had just woken up to the strangest and most uncomfortable feeling. He yawned as he took a glance outside the window to determine what time it was.

He scrunched his brow as he caught sight of the marred field below. It was littered with what looked like Razor Leaves. Another thing that bothered him greatly was the huge mass of pokemon heading into the forest. He followed their path with his eyes and gasped in shock as he jumped out of bed in a panic.

"PIKAPI PIKACHU!(ASH IS IN TROUBLE!)" Pikachu yelled through the house, waking every single sleeping human and pokemon.

* * *

(1) I'm assuming that since Totodile was the only other pokemon out during movie five, he would have seen at least a statue of Latias in the city.

Phew...This chapter took me awhile. So we got another heart-to-heart talk in. This one was a bit harder to write since it had Bayleef in it. I might go back and revise if necessary.

**A/N **

**Sorry if this update is later than expected for some of you. I got sick and still am sick at the moment.** **Hopefully I'll get over this soon.**

Anyways, thank you for reading and please review! Look forward to next time because I already have 1/3 of it written out!

-Mekon


	10. Ch9: Of a Dragon's Claw

**DISCLAIMER**

If my ownership of Pokemon was a pokemon, it would have zero health points.

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

**A/N **

**Important! **

**Yes I know I took an entire month to update! I'm sorry! I don't like holding up my story either, but high school is crazy busy around this time with end of term exams, AP exams (I am really freaking out about those) and a bunch of other things. **

**So please forgive me for my long dry periods. I'm doing the best I can! And thank you for putting up with me! **

**Much Love!**

**-Mekon**

* * *

Last Time:

"_What was that?" Bulbasaur asked, not missing the feeling of whatever that was at all. _

"_No idea," Ash responded, "But I get the feeling that we are about to have some company soon." That was all it took, and Bulbasaur shot off to warn the others, his footsteps drowned out by a thundering march of pokemon coming from the forest._

_Ash tensed as he watched shadows rise out of the darkness of the forest and take shape. Just by looking at their eyes, he knew...they were here to destroy them._

* * *

_Far off in Ash's bedroom _

_Pikachu had just woken up to the strangest and most uncomfortable feeling. He yawned as he took a glance outside the window to determine what time it was._

_He scrunched his brow as he caught sight of the marred field below. It was littered with what looked like Razor Leaves. Another thing that bothered him greatly was the huge mass of pokemon heading into the forest. He followed their path with his eyes and gasped in shock as he jumped out of bed in a panic. _

"_PIKAPI PIKACHU!(ASH IS IN TROUBLE!)" Pikachu yelled through the house, waking every single inhabitant. _

* * *

Ch9: Of A Dragon's Claw

Ash focused, his mind trying to count the amount of adversaries facing them now. There were just too many of them. Some were exceedingly large; some were fairy-like small. But one thing held them all together, their evil eyes that seemed to murderously stare at Ash. Latias frightfully backed away into the center of the group[, not enjoying their malevolent, red, smirking eyes.

All of Ash's pokemon took their stances, preparing for one long and tough battle. But who was their enemy? They didn't have time to think about that, however, as the night sky flared up with dazzling and deadly colors of oranges, whites and many other assortment of colors.

Ash and his pokemon quickly defended themselves, easily deflecting, destroying or just stopping all the attacks that had been launched against them. In the brief flash of light, they were able to make out the form of their current enemy, the smaller shadows. The larger ones had disappeared into the cover of the forest.

"It can't be!" Bulbasaur exclaimed, "It's all of our friends from the surrounding forest!" And indeed they were, but turned wild and now rampant monsters.

"Some 'friends'!" Infernape yelled as he beat back a very vicious pack of raticate and rattata that seemed to enjoy using Hyper Fang in abundance. They weren't very high leveled at all, but their attacks were strangely, exponentially more powerful, raising the amount of danger alarmingly.

"They aren't normally like this! There's something wrong with them!" Bulbasaur defended, smacking away a diving spearow who incessantly continued to launch Fury Attacks at him. A few of them hit, and Bulbasaur grimaced as the spearow's attack seemed to do more damage than it should have normally. What on Earth was going on!

This small wave off attacks contained for a few more minutes; Ash's pokemon avidly defended each other, resulting in minimal hits and small health loss overall. They sighed in relief as the small pokemon disappeared into the forest, leaving the band of defending pokemon and giving them time to rest and regroup. But...it wasn't over yet.

Suddenly, an ear-piercing uproar was raised, nearly causing them all to faint from the sheer pain of it all. The absolute volume and pitch of the noise was nothing ever experienced by any of them before.

"What was that!" Bayleef cried out, shaking her head vigorously in order to shake off the dull ringing in her head.

"Oooo I don't know but it was horrible," Latias groaned out, clutching her head with her claws in an effort to stem the pain. Then a loud noise, not as loud as the shriek before, filled the air and caused them to turn towards the sound. They gasped as they saw a strange reddish-orange beam head they way from the confines of the dark woods. They didn't have time to react and the beam connected with the ground in an enormous and highly damaging explosion.

Most of Ash's friends had avoided the attack, however, taking the most damage from the debris that had struck them from the resultant explosion. They shook themselves off, trying to see through the cloud of dust and dirt that seemed to be now blocking their vision.

"Stay strong guys!" Ash yelled over the dust, "This is where the real battle begins!" Then another deafening roar rose above the trees, signaling for the attack to commence.

* * *

Pikachu stopped as his sensitive ears easily picked up the roars coming from the center of the forest. He looked behind him to see seven humans trailing far behind him; they really needed to hurry.

"Pika! (Hurry!)" Pikachu said as he sped off, worrying deeply about his best friend and all of his other friends.

"I..wonder...what...has got..Pikachu...so...worked up," Dawn gasped, having run all the way here in her pajamas. She wasn't used to waking up so early, and not to mention her hair was an absolute mess!

"It...probably..has..something...to do with...Ash," Professor Oak said as he too was out of breath. Waking up this early and working out wasn't a regular thing for him! He was much too old for this kind of excitement at this ungodly hour.

"Man you're out of shape you two," a loud very energetic voice said a bit arrogantly, a very easily detectable smirk embedded in his sentence. "You should work out more."

"Oh shut it Gary!" Misty said as she threatened to beat him down with her rubber mallet, that she always had on her. She really just couldn't stand him sometimes.

"I hope Ash and his pokemon are all alright. They seemed a bit uneasy this afternoon!" Mrs. Ketchum said as she picked up her pace, worried sick about her boy.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure we can handle it," another voice answered, ever the optimist, closely followed by a very bouncy Marill trilling behind him.

"Yeah I hope so Tracy," Brock answered as they arrived at the base of the first tree of the forest where Pikachu had stopped. They shuddered as an icy wind abruptly emanated from its dark depths, only further reinforcing the fear and trepidation that had just hit them all.

"Sooo who wants to go first?" Dawn squeaked, not liking the cold and fearing the dark. Piplup, ever the one wishing to impress, boldly stepped forward, until a small breeze lifted up a small branch which abruptly hit him on the head, scaring the living daylights out of him and knocking him out too. The Sinnoh coordinator face palmed as she gathered her partner, shaking her head.

"Well if we are going to go through, we will need some protection," Gary said smartly, "Umbreon!" A small, fox-like pokemon with bright yellow moon rings appeared, basking in the glow of the moonlight, her element.

"Good idea," Dawn said as she set down the now conscious Piplup and released her pokeball, "Let's go Buneary!" Another sparkle of light later and Buneary happily appeared, dancing around ready to assist. Soon after without warning, Brock's Croagunk appeared, accustomed to inviting himself.

Pikachu hadn't been paying attention to the humans, so he didn't really notice that they had released their pokemon to help. He had been busy trying to pinpoint the location of his trainer through the forest.

Buneary happily hopped over to the electric mouse, lightly flirting upon arrival, interrupting his previous state of concentration. Pikachu rubbed the back of his head nervously, lightly embarrassed.

"Awww that's cute! I didn't know Buneary liked Pikachu," Mrs. Ketchum said, gushing over the two. Pikachu sweat-dropped; they really didn't need to discus this at the moment.

All the while Umbreon eyed the small brown rabbit, her eyes thinning almost into slits. She slowly walked over to the two, her fluid steps filled with grace.

0-0 Pokespeech 0-0

"Hello Pikachu," Umbreon greeted curtly, walking over to the electric mouse and the still flushing bunny pokemon. Umbreon internally scowled; she couldn't stand girls who squealed and became all flustered by just being near their crush. They seemed weak and not worthy to her. But perhaps it was just her raising that had given her this view.

"Hi Umbreon," Pikachu answered back nervously, still remembering the beating he received when said dark-type was just an Eevee. But he reasoned that he had gotten a lot more powerful and relaxed a bit.

"I see that you have gotten minimally stronger," Umbreon provoked, smirking, probably something she got from Gary. She knew that Pikachu had actually exponentially grown in power, but she would never admit that to his face anyway. Immediately, just as Ash would do, Pikachu responded with a quick response, the first thing that came to him.

"Ha you got no idea! I bet I could take you on!" Pikachu boasted, but immediately after, he shut his mouth, just realizing what he had done.

"Oh? Do you say so? Well, looks like we'll have to settle this little score here now won't we?" Umbreon responded, sliding forward silkily, until her face was just inches from his.

"Uhhhhhh can we do this later? We are kind of busy..." Pikachu answered, getting more nervous with every passing second. He was never, ever ever, this close to Umbreon, and he didn't know what to make of it.

"Fine," Umbreon said, but not before flashing her eyes blue with Psychic to tell Pikachu they would fight it out eventually, sooner or later. Pikachu gulped, getting the message, but returned his attention to his task ahead. They had dawdled long enough, and all of them ran into the forest, intent on reaching Ash.

0-0 End Pokespeech 0-0

* * *

Ash waited, preparing for whatever adversary would appear out of the dust. He knew that this fight would be different from all his other fights, because this time, he would be battling for his friends and vice versa. It was a strange, wonderful, yet scary feeling, but he did not dwell on it long.

"Ready everyone!" Ash called out, still playing to role of motivator and trainer, as well as fighter now. He squinted as he saw shapes entering and appearing in the dust. One last thing needed to be done. "Staraptor, blow away the dust quickly!" Staraptor complied as he used his powerful wings to blow away the dust...dramatically reveling their opponents, like the unveiling of a great play about to begin, only with a sand veil.

But like in plays, once the curtains rise, the show must begin...and indeed it did.

Immediately after Staraptor had done this, Ash knew now how vastly outnumbered they were. There were at least three to four pokemon for every pokemon he had. Even with their great strength and training, he didn't know if they would last very long, but they had to try. Maybe, help would come. There were so many species, tauros, spearows, persians, doduos, dodrios, large packs of raticates and rattatas, snubbulls, granbulls and so many more.

"Protect each other and do anything it takes to do it!" Ash yelled as he faced two foes, a large wild dodrio and raging kangaskhan, both equally bent on harming him and his friends.

Both teams stood there for another couple of seconds, the tension in the air mounting. Then at that critical point, all hell broke loose.

Charizard fired a powerful Fire Blast into the ranks of the wild pokemon, setting the ground ablaze, effectually starting the fight. He attacked with savage power as he fired long powerful streams of fire and dragon energy that easily knocked out many pokemon. But soon counter-attacks were mounted against them.

A renegade band of tauros charged and Body Slammed Ash's tauros with ferocity, relentlessly attacking with their deadly horns and large numbers. It was like a feud, one band of tauros against the other. Gible fired volley after volley of Draco Meteors hitting many foes, being protected as the artillery of the group. He was staying in the center, that being the most strategic place for him at the moment.

Ash and Latias disarmed their opponents with their Psychic powers, using them on the more powerful foes. They flew around quickly, concealing themselves and throwing up powerful Protects on those who would have otherwise badly gotten hurt.

Bayleef, Totodile, Bulbasaur and Quilava were fighting a large Wigglytuff and equally pink and large Lickilicky, their strength's equally matched in terms of teams. All around them, fires, explosions, flashes of light and constant howls of pain filled the air and space of the battle field.

Ash watched as Infernape and Sceptile took on a strangely powerful duo of Ditto that had masterfully transformed themselves into their adversary. A constant exchange of grass and fire danced around them, the fires heating and cracking the ground, the blades of grass cutting the ground with precise aim and deadly accuracy.

Corphish and Kingler had teamed up, their dual Crab Hammers making short work of the wild pokemon. Together they took down a very annoying litter of Persians that had been stealthily navigating the field, taking advantage of their cat-like agility and secrecy to strike and then retreat. Staraptor, Swellow, Gliscor and Noctowl flew around rapidly, picking off any pokemon that was weakening and deftly scooping friends, those in danger, out-of-the-way.

Snorlax, Muk, Torterra, and Heracross were bravely tanking for their friends, taking the blows and exchanging their own powerful ones as well. They were the large shields that Ash and his friends were relying on and did their job well. Glalie, Buizel, Donphan and Torkoal had begun to work together; their variety of attacks doing deadly damage to the wild hoard. It was beautiful how water, ice, fire and ground seemed to prance and mingle so effortlessly in their coordinated attacks.

But then as well as the battle was going for Ash's friends, it could and would not stay that way. The Kanto Pokemon trainer watched in horror as Charizard, one of his best fighters, wounded badly from the day before fell first at the hands of a granbull who had nailed the fire-type with a powerful Thunder Fang on his right wing. Charizard roared in pain as he felt the electricity course through his already beat body and fell with a thud, fainting after such a valiant effort.

"CHARIZARD!" Ash yelled, blasting his two current opponents with an emotionally-charged Psychic attack, throwing them into the trees. He quickly moved to protect his friend's body, lifting it into the center of his circle of fighters near Gible, knowing that he would be safe there...for now. From there, however, it all went downhill.

He clenched his claws watching as more of his friends began to weaken, announcing it with howls of pain and screeches of hurt. Ash closed his eyes, tears gathering, but he knew he had to be strong, not for just himself, but for his own pokemon. They still had a chance...maybe.

He flew further into the fray, emotion fueling his rage, attacking and defending with fervor. But even his body would eventually wear out with time.

Soon, Ash watched, his heart only bleeding even more each time, as more of his friends fell. Bayleef dropped to the floor as an angry fearow had picked her up and threw her into the trees, slamming her body against the trunks of the forest. Soon after, Bulbasaur and Totodile had suffered the same painful fate. The same fearow had tried this method on Quilava, but it had failed dramatically when Quilava had used Eruption, giving a straight blast of fire into the beak-pokemon's chest, fainting it, but also fainting Quilava as he was dropped out of the air.

Kingler and Corphish had been taken out by a large Lickitung which had only needed to Wrap them with its long tongue and them slam them into the floor..albeit many times with its long appendage. Sceptile and Infernape were on their last limbs; Overgrowth and Blaze activated respectively. They finally took out their doppelgangers with ease, but were caught off guard as a newly appeared Ursaring Thrashed them into a dead faint with one blow. This same Ursaring, with some assistance from the enemy flying pokemon, took out all three of Ash's bird pokemon and Gliscor with four unexpected Aerial Aces of almost equal speed to Staraptor.

Ash couldn't let this go on much longer, they were running out of time. He called all of his friends to form a circle, gathering the fallen into the center. Gible was still at it, firing shower after shower of dragon-infused meteorites. He was tiring, however, as seen by his sweat and constant heaving. The remaining circle lasted for a while, and Ash had hope as he noticed the ranks of enemies thinning out. But his hopes would be dashed.

Ash's friends shrieked with pain as that ungodly sound responded through the forest, painfully striking their eardrums and even knocking one or two of Ash's pokemon out. By now, Ash knew that this was a Pokemon's attack and awaited its arrival on the battlefield.

Suddenly, all of the attacking pokemon stopped and retreated into the forest, giving them a quick breather.

"How...is...everyone...doing,"Ash panted out, his body strained harder than ever before. He cursed the fact that he was injured just a day before. They announced their conditions...and most of them were not good at all. If this kept up for much longer, they all would faint, leaving them to the mercy of the angry wild pokemon assailants.

Ash and the remaining conscious pokemon tensed as the ground shook, alerting them to either a very large approaching enemy, or another large wave of them. Either case would be disastrous no doubt. They waited and waited, and slowly a shadow materialized in the moonlight. Out of the shadows of the forest, an angry-looking, rarely-found, Exploud appeared, followed by an enormous Snorlax. Ash, shut his ears tight with his claws as the exploud attacked pre-maturely with a Hyper Voice, catching them off-guard and fainted another group of pokemon, Buizel, Glalie, Torkoal, and Donphan, all of which had almost the same amount of health left before the attack, resulting in a four-way knock out. This left only Ash, Latias, Snorlax, Torterra, Muk, Heracross and the small dragon, Gible.

Ash's Snorlax ran ahead to meet the opposing Snorlax and prove himself. Ash's attacked ferociously with a high jump and powerful Body Slam. He landed a successful attack, but the enemy Snorlax easily rose, pushing hard against Ash's Snorlax and throwing him off of him. Snorlax attacked again, his fist glowing blue as he launched an Ice Punch aimed straight for the face. Alas, his attack would not hit. The other Snorlax had a trick up his sleeve, and his fist became empowered with a white glow and connected with Snorlax first, shooting him across the field like a meteorite from space, his Brick Break being super-effective against a normal type like Ash's Snorlax. This put Ash at a huge disadvantage, because now, his best shield and one of his most powerful pokemon was out.

Meanwhile, Heracross, Muk and Torterra had fainted the exploud with much effort and much pain, mainly from its overcharged Hyper Voice. But after all of the effort, they lost their consciousness as well, leaving only Latias, Ash and Gible to fend off the extremely dangerous wild Snorlax in front of them.

Ash and Latias were very weak now, their over-exertion taking an enormous toll on them. They could barely even levitate at the moment. But now, all of the remaining pokemon that had attacked before massed before them. They were completely surrounded, but Ash had one last idea as they began to converge on them.

"LATIAS! FOLLOW ME AND FIRE A MIST BALL WHEN I TELL YOU!" Ash said as he flew high into the air, directly above Gible and his fallen friends. He now saw the magnitude of pokemon that had come to destroy them and had to stop them. He gathered the remainder of his energy into his claws, just wishing to protect his friends. Unknown to him again, that blue circle on his chest glowed once more.

"NOW!" Ash said as he let fly the remainder of his spare energy. Latias fired her Mist Ball at the same time, their attacks mixing and empowering the other. Ash didn't know why, but his Luster Purge had turned into a strange blueish-green color that seemed to emanate with power, and when it hit the ground, it pulsed out in a ring, hitting all the wild pokemon, fainting the weaker ones and scaring the stronger ones away. Slowly the two eons sank to the floor, no strength left to keep them airborne. As they sank to the ground, however, a large mass rustled up. That Snorlax was still up and kicking. Gible was the only one left with enough energy to fight now.

The Snorlax looked at them and charged, both of his fists glowing white with power. Ash hastily threw up a Protect, trying to hold off the attack in a last ditch effort, but due to the nature of Brick Break, it easily plowed through the shield and then blast Ash and Latias into the ground, creating a deep gorge in the earth, outlining their path. The evil Snorlax towered over them, his fist raising for that final blow, intent on ending the two eon dragon's lying on the ground below.

Gible ran as fast as he could, but knew he wouldn't make it in this state. If only he was faster! He focused and clutched his fist. It was time.

* * *

Ash and Latias closed their eyes tightly, awaiting that fateful blow that would most likely give them a very unplanned visit to Arceus. They braced themselves as the air from the wild snorlax's Brick Break came ever closer and closer. Then suddenly it stopped.

Ash peaked open his eyes and gasped in shock. There in front of him, a Gabite stood, blocking the Brick Break with all his might, his sharp claws glowing light green... A Dragon Claw attack.

"Gible?" Ash asked breathlessly as he fainted. The Gabite furrowed his brow as he struggled with all of his power to force back the wild snorlax intent on killing his trainer. He grunted with strain as snorlax increased his power output trying to overpower the dragon who was blocking him from his goal.

Gabite grit his teeth as he felt himself give ground. He looked back at his trainer and the red eon dragon who had both fainted from sheer fatigue. They were counting on him.

He mustered up all of his strength, and gave a ground-breaking roar as he lifted the enormous snorlax and with all his strength threw it far away from them. The snorlax roared as he felt himself flying through the air and landed on the ground with an earth-shaking thud, but he wasn't done yet. The snorlax got up and charged again, his fists smashing into the earth below Gabite and causing the dragon to lose his footing, almost leaving him wide open for the snorlax to take out.

Calling upon his new-found speed, Gabite jumped up out of the crater and poised himself high in the air. He dove and smashed another round of Dragon Claws directly into the snorlax's head, knocking him down onto the ground. Then on the way down, Gabite fired a Dragon Pulse from his claws that exploded into the Snorlax's stomach, embedding him into the cold, dark earth with a very large snorlax-shaped crater.

However, the snorlax slowly stumbled up, and prepared to use Rest to regain his health in order to allow him to continue fighting and eventually prevail over the newly evolved dragon. If he could get only a fraction of Rest, it would be all over.

Gabite wouldn't let that happen though. He attacked with a vengeance as his claws gathered a sphere of orange energy. He attacked just in time, his Draco Meteor impacting directly into the large sleeping pokemon, burying him in an even deeper crater, lighting up the sky in a powerful vivid orange and finally fainting his opponent. It was finally over. Gabite heaved, his chest rapidly expanding. And then, the sun finally peaked over the horizon, giving light to the scene and only then did the true horror of it all truly make sense.

Gabite sharply turned his head; a rustle in the bushes alerting him to another presence. He got into battle stance, even though he was already at his limit, prepared to defend his friends and trainer to the death.

Then, Pikachu exited the underbrush, looking a bit beat up and bedraggled. A few scratches and burns were apparent on his body as well. They apparently had faced some resistance in the forest. Umbreon followed suit, not looking as bad, but there were some obvious injuries. Buneary had already fainted from a very unpleasant Mega Kick just moments before. Croagunk looked as stoic as ever, not bearing many visible marks of attack.

"What in Arceus's name happened here!" Professor Oak cried out as he came upon the devastated battlefield. The landscape was littered with burn marks, fell trees, craters, and scattered, fainted pokemon all over.

Out from behind the professor, more humans arrived. Brock, Misty and Dawn soon emerged, looking a bit shaken. Piplup was currently residing in Dawn's arms, now fully knocked out after battling. Soon after followed Ash's mother. Soon enough, Gary followed looking a bit more haggard compared to how he entered. Tracy too emerged from the underbrush a bit shaken but in relative good health. Their pokemon reviewed the scene, never seeing such devastation.

"Woah gramps! What do you think happened to this place!" Gary asked, surveying the area for the first time. All of the fainted pokemon were enough to make him sick.

Pikachu didn't bother just standing there. He ran up to the last pokemon standing, his cheeks sparking dangerously.

"Relax Pikachu. It's me, Gible," Gabite said folding his arms. Pikachu hopped back in surprise. He stared at the Gabite, taking a second to double check the truth of his statement. It was true however; Pikachu noticed the notch in his tail fin.

"Amazing what evolution can do to you..." Pikachu muttered, taking note of past-Gible's increased intelligence and calmness, "What happened to everyone?"

"We were attacked from all sides. All of them were wild pokemon. Most of them were fainted by Ash's and Latias' last joint attack," Gabite answered. He told a brief account of what had transpired and led Pikachu to his best friend.

"Ash?" Pikachu asked poking him in the middle of his face for a long time. Eventually, Ash awoke. "You okay Ash?"

"Been soooo much better," Ash groaned. Two beatings in a row was definitely not beneficial to his health. Pikachu gestured for the still horrified humans to come over. Ash closed his eyes again, really wanting to rest.

On their way, they helped move most of Ash's fallen friends. Some, they were able to wake up. They were sure beat up, but they would all live and make a full recovery luckily. Finally, they came upon Ash and Latias who happened to still be lying on the floor side-by-side.

"Woah! Check it out gramps! It's a Latios and Latias!" Gary exclaimed, possessing some knowledge of the legendary eon dragons from his travels and research.

"Err Gary that is..." Professor Oak tried to explain, but failed as Gary rushed forward to examine to two. Gary's grandfather shook his head, deciding to let it all just work itself out.

Gary walked around the two, making mental notes on their body size, shape and build. He was intrigued by the unusual coloration of the black Latios. He had never read anything on a black-colored Latios.

"Hey gramps, I'm thinking that these two might be mates or something," Gary called over shoulder, not seeing the hopeless head shaking that was directed his way. Curiously, he reached forward to grab a feather out of the black Latios' down.

'Touch me and die Gary,' Ash communicated, really not wanting to deal with Gary right now. Gary jumped about fifty feet in the air, yelping from surprise and fear. Angering a legendary pokemon was never a good idea. Ash decided to play on this a bit, calling upon unknown strength to float up and look menacingly at his past rival.

"Woah hey I mean no harm!" Gary exclaimed, tripping on the ground in the process, cowering as he found himself no escape. Ash made the most angry face he could and continued to scare the living daylights out of Gary.

"Ash I think that's enough don't you think?" Professor Oak said, deciding to have some mercy on his own grandson. Ash rolled his eyes, as he laid himself on the ground to rest again.

"Ashy-boy?" Gary asked slowly and uncertainly, eventually getting off of the ground and dusting his pants off in the process. Ash nodded. Gary was half-relieved, half-irritated. Ash had gotten the better of him!

'Who'd you think I was?' Ash answered, his eyes still closed, tiredness evident in his psychic voice. If he had had the strength he would have laughed at Gary's expense, but circumstances did not allow him that rare, very rare, pleasure. Why did all the bad things have to happen to him?

"Oh I don't know. A Pokemon?" Gary responded a bit heatedly. What else was he supposed to expect?

Out of habit, Gary lightly brooded, bugged by the fact Ash had actually outdone him. But he would get over it soon enough. Plus, how the heck did Ash turn into a pokemon in the first place! His questions would have to wait however.

"Here Ash, eat this," Brock said as he took out some Sitrus berries for Ash to eat out of his pack for temporary strength. Latias hadn't awoken yet, but Brock left some there for her, knowing that she would definitely need it. Oh Nurse Joy was going to throw a fit for sure!

"It must have been quite a battle to faint almost all of Ash's pokemon," Professor Oak commented, "Delia would you mind calling Nurse Joy again for me? I do think she will be needed here. Oh and also grab the large box of pokeball's under Ash's name. I dare say we will need them to transport all these poor pokemon," Mrs. Ketchum nodded hurrying off to the lab. The faster she got there, the faster her boy could be healed.

"We should go and help some of Ash's fainted pokemon in anyway we can," Tracy added, propelling the rest of the idle group to action. Anything would be better than nothing they reasoned. Plus, they could try their best to make Nurse Joy's job a bit easier.

Within five minutes, Mrs. Ketchum returned, lightly jogging, large box in hard. The morning light making her easily visible from far away.

"Ahh thank you Delia," Professor Oak said, taking the box from Ash's mother and setting it down on the floor. It was full of Ash's empty pokemon. One by one, the pokemon professor returned each and every pokemon that Ash had had before his return. Only his Sinnoh pokemon were left in the care of the humans, seeing as Ash could not access their poke balls at the moment.

"Nurse Joy should be here within twenty minutes. She's coming with a real healing machine this time," Delia said, half relieved, half anxious. She then turned to Ash, "How do you get yourself into so much trouble mister!" Ash lightly smiled, even in his beaten state.

'I dunno mom. Trouble just seems to love following me wherever I go,' he answered lightly, trying to distract himself from his bodily pain. Delia shook her head, holding her temples with her hand.

"At any rate we should head back. It's not safe here," Brock answered, not wanting anymore trouble to find them just yet.

"Yeah, Can we get going soon?" Dawn asked, her trepidation apparent in her rapid shifting of her eyes around her surroundings. She had good reasoning however. There could have been a very high chance of another attack wave.

"We'll need someway to carry Ash's remaining pokemon," Misty said, referring to Infernape, Staraptor, Gliscor, Buizel, and his massive Torterra.

"Alright. Electivire! Blastoise!" Gary said, summoning his two strongest pokemon, "Guy's I need your help to carry Ash's fainted pokemon." He pointed the the enormous continent pokemon, and his two pokemon looked at him in disbelief. Torterra weighed more than they did combined! "Come on you two! I know you can do it! It's only to gramp's lab anyway."

They sweat dropped, but obeyed their trainer. After much...much...much effort. They managed to lift Torterra off of the ground, strain very apparent on their faces.

"Croagunk, you help those two out. They won't make it that far," Brock said, knowing the true limits of carrying around an almost 700 pound pokemon. Thinking ahead, he summoned Chansey as well. "Chansey! you help out too." Brock's two pokemon happily assisted Gary's, slowly but surely making their way to the forest line and to the lab. Gary silently thanked Brock, not wanting to openly admit that he knew his pokemon wouldn't have made it. Brock nodded, deciding to supervise the moving of the gigantic continent pokemon which was certainly going to be a chore.

"Mamoswine! Help out!" Dawn called out. A massive mammoth-like pokemon appeared, ready for action. "I need you to carry Infernape on your back to that building you see up there!" Mamoswine was a bit disappointed, expecting a battle. "Come on Mamoswine, I'll make you poffins later!" That was all the incentive he needed and soon, Mamoswine was speeding through the forest with Infernape, a running and yelling Dawn tailing him the entire way. That left, Buizel, Gliscor, Staraptor and Latias.

"I'll go and help Buizel!" Pikachu announced, moving towards the fallen water weasel. Ash nodded. Pikachu would need someone else of almost equal height to support Buizel however.

"Umbreon go help out Pikachu," Gary ordered, seeing what Ash saw. Umbreon nodded and made her way to Pikachu and strange water-pokemon. Buizel was awake, but was struggling to stand up and walk. Initially, he waved off any help from Pikachu, ever the proud water-type.

"Don't be so stubborn Buizel," Pikachu said, standing on his hind legs to support his friend. He gave in finally. Buizel faltered, however, his other side unsupported. The moonlight pokemon slowly made her way to the opposite side of Pikachu, offering her support. Hesitantly, Buizel put his arm around her back and allowed them to help him limp through the forest. Gary followed his last pokemon to the lab afterward.

"Golduck! Help carry Staraptor to Professor Oak's lab," Misty said, not wanting to be left out. The blue duck gently picked up the bird and made his way to the white building in the distance, followed by Misty.

"Guess that leaves me with Gliscor then!" Tracy said, "Scyther a little help here please!" The mantis pokemon easily picked up the fainted Gliscor, following Tracy's ever joyful Marill and his trainer through the forest.

Now Ash was left with a still fainted Latias, Professor Oak, and his mother.

"Ash do you think you can muster up enough energy to get yourself and Latias to the lab? I don't think we could carry you there," Professor Oak mused, "And I happen to be carrying the rest of you pokemon as it is already."

'Yeah I get your point,' he answered. Ash took a deep breath, drawing as much energy out of Brock's berries as he could. He had just the amount of energy left to activate his levitation, albeit at a very low height. But it would get him there and that was what was important. His next task would be waking Latias up.

Ash shook his head to clear his throbbing head and went over to Latias to wake her up. She had battled hard and for a long time. He beamed with pride, impressed with her seemingly natural skill.

"C'mon Tia it's time to get up," Ash said, his speech not recognized by the humans. He shook her slowly, making sure to be gentle. After much time, Latias finally opened her eyes, the rays of the just rising sun greeting her.

"Ugh...Are we dead?" Latias groaned, but her earthly body proved her wrong as it throbbed and ached, telling her that she hadn't moved on yet. She laid back down, too tired to care right now. Ash lightly chuckled.

"No we aren't dead yet. But we could be if we stay out here much longer," Ash said trying to get Latias up. He still had three berries left from Brock luckily. "Here eat this." He motioned a berry to Latias, but she was just too tired to even feed herself. He sighed.

"Alright open up," Ash said moving the nutrient-filled berry to Latias' mouth. After much coaxing, Ash finally managed to get a whole berry into Latias' mouth. It was much easier afterward to feed the remaining two to her.

"Thanks Ash," Latias breathed out with a small appreciative smile. Soon she too was up in the air, floating just barely above the ground like Ash. It had taken her much more effort, but with a few bursts of Ash's Psychic she had managed to get back up, all at the expense of Ash who was happy to drain his own strength to help. He almost did fall back to the ground, but Latias quickly held him up, steadying him. All the while Delia and Professor Oak just watched.

"They really are quite the couple aren't they?" Professor Oak commented, seeing the magnitude of care they held for each other.

"They are cute aren't they?" Delia added, with a smile. She wondered when Ash would finally figure it all out. It would probably take him a very long time, seeing as Ash was so oblivious to girls.

Finally, Ash and Latias had managed get up and float weakly in place.

"Alright lets get on our way. The sooner we get there, the faster Nurse Joy can heal you two. I foresee a bit of a fit from her however," Professor Oak said, moving forward with the rest of Ash's poke balls. Mrs. Ketchum nodded and followed behind, Ash and Latias in tow, both supporting each other the best they could.

* * *

"HONESTLY FOR MEW'S SAKE! GONE FOR LESS THAN 24 HOURS AND THEN ALL OF THIS HAPPENS!" Nurse Joy exclaimed, a little peeved and a bit out if her usual demeanor. She had traveled here with a portable commercial healing machine, carried by a trainer's Dragonite, which had also generously carried the machine. It had left already, his trainer waiting back in Veridian.

Strangely, Brock had not instantly come onto her, but instead offered his services to help lighten her workload. She had accepted gladly, sharply ordering Brock what to do. Two chansey had accompanied her also, currently tending to the more seriously injured. Joy had then turned to Dawn, Misty, Gary, and Tracy for help as well. Soon a long sort of assembly line formed: get the pokemon, diagnose, heal, bandage, food, and rest.

Eventually, Professor Oak, Delia, Ash and Latias arrived on the scene; it was almost like a makeshift Pokemon Center.

"My goodness! My lab has been transformed into an emergency treatment center!" Professor Oak exclaimed. Pokemon were sleeping everywhere on the floor, eating in the lab, and healing on the second floor. Some had been moved to the immediate outside, safely on the lawn, due to their size.

"C'mon you two," Nurse Joy said, ushering in Ash and Latias in. They had to turn sideways to get through the door, but afterward they had no problems getting to the upstairs healing machine which could host up to six pokemon at a time. Currently, Charizard, Bayleef, Gabite, and Torterra were attached to it, all of them asleep.

Nurse Joy patted a small pad of blankets on the floor, motioning for Ash to lie down. He complied, sighing with relief as he could finally rest again.

Before starting, Nurse Joy told him to just relax, remembering his previous discomfort. Ash felt strange as he sensed various wires being attached to him. Briefly, he wondered what the healing from the machine felt like. Then Nurse Joy turned it on.

If there was a heaven, this is what it felt like, Ash decided. Never had he ever felt this calm, peaceful, and serene.

He closed his eyes and imagined himself as a Pokemon Master, the feeling of just standing there on the podium, and the crowd cheering him on with wave after wave of amazed shouts and yells. Yet...there just seemed to be something...or someone missing.

But Ash wasn't able to ponder why, because as quickly as that sensation came to him, it disappeared. (1)

"There you go. You should feel much better after that," Nurse Joy said, taking the wires off of him. Indeed, he felt so much better and so hungry! He wasn't perfectly healed to battle, but he was healthy enough to move around and maybe even transform. He looked at the clock and realized it had already been an hour since he had gotten in.

'Thanks Nurse Joy,' Ash cooed, and the pokemon nurse nodded.

"Your welcome!" she replied happily, enjoying the fact that Ash could communicate with her, "Alright. Excuse me. I need to unhook your mate." Ash pinked again, but really there was no point in trying to convince Nurse Joy that Latias wasn't his mate at this point. He nodded as he moved to get something to eat.

"Hey Ash!" his friends exclaimed, as he entered the dining area. "It's good to see you back on your feet...errr air." Ash laughed. It felt good to laugh after such a tremulous three days.

"Hurry up and get something to eat before it gets cold," Misty said, knowing all too well that Ash was starving. He gave her a grateful smile, and promptly began eating. Then Gary and Tracy entered.

"Jeeze, That's probably the only way you'd know it was Ash," Gary said coming upon the ravenous glutton that was Ash. "Which by the way I don't believe still." Ash rolled his eyes. Tracy didn't comment. He was too busy sketching Ash for his research.

"_M__ight as well prove him wrong now," _Ash thought, thinking he had enough energy now to transform. His physical wounds were healed up pretty well from Nurse Joy's treatment. He might as well try it now.

'Fine. Watch then Gary,' Ash answered, closing his eyes. Within seconds and a flash of light, there sat Ash in all of his fifteen year old glory.

"Believe it now?" Ash asked with a smirk as he continued eating, his body a bit more taxed, but okay nonetheless.

Gary stared for a minute and then crossed his arms, grunting in acceptance, concealing his amazement. Tracy was obviously surprised, evident by his blank staring face.

"I'll explain later when I'm not so tired," Ash sighed as he piled more food onto his plate, knowing they had questions. Any normal person would. Then Latias entered the room, looking much better and feeling it too. She smiled as she came upon the welcome sight of Ash in his human form. It seemed like ages since they had assumed their human looks.

"What are you gonna tell me next eh? That this Latias is actually your pokemon and can transform into a really pretty girl?" Gary asked rolling his eyes. Ash smiled.

"Yeah sure," Ash curtly responded, "Go ahead Tia." Latias happily complied, assuming her unique and heavenly human form. She spun around with a grin as she caught sight of the stupefied face of Gary. Comfortable, she walked over to the table and sat down next to Ash, her long brown hair cascading down the sides of her face.

"Not fair," Gary grumbled to himself.

"Whatever Gary," Ash dismissed, easily able to hear him due to his new senses. Latias happily giggled, glad that things seemed to be back to normal...for now anyways.

* * *

About an hour later, they were all happily fed, and relatively healthy. They briefly discussed the battle, trying to determine the cause of the attack, but no answer could be found. And of course Ash to explain his new appearance to Gary and Tracy via memory sharing. Other than that, the morning was just rolling away, giving way to bright sunshine.

"Isn't it weird though?" Brock commented, "Two days in a row...wild pokemon attacked." The humans and pokemon were silent, contemplating the coincidence...or maybe it wasn't a coincidence. They didn't know. They didn't have any information that could help them at all though. But finding answers was something they desperately needed to do.

"It is extremely strange and extremely dangerous," Professor Oak said, rubbing his chin in thought, "What could be the possible cause?"

"Well it has to be something important to cause all of these pokemon to act up," Misty said, "It's like when the Orange Islands were threatened. The pokemon knew."

"Exactly true. Whatever it is. It has to be a world threatening cause," the professor answered.

"But why would they attack me?" Ash asked, "I'm not causing the world extreme distress am I?"

"Don't be ridiculous Ash. Of course you aren't," Dawn said, completely sure of that.

"I haven't noticed any strange occurrences with weather or any natural disasters on the news or anywhere for that matter either, " Gary added.

"Maybe it's something only pokemon know about?" Tracy hypothesized, "It's not like we know everything about them." Everyone was quiet, because they knew that was a possibility.

"Know anything Pikachu?" Ash asked, hoping that maybe Pikachu had some sort of innate knowledge about this whole situation.

"Errrr nothing that I can distinctly pick out..." Pikachu answered sadly. Ash was quiet and contemplated on what to do.

"I'm going for a walk," Ash announced. They looked alarmed at his announcement, seeing as it might not be safe right now.

"You shouldn't go yet. There could be more hostile pokemon out there," Misty said, worried for Ash's well-being.

"hmm I don't think so. I don't sense any near. You feel anything Latias?" Ash asked. She shook her head, not feeling any hostile emotions of any kind. He nodded. "I'll be right back in about twenty minutes or so."

"Well take someone with you. Pikachu at least," Brock said, wanting to ensure Ash's safety. He nodded and motioned for Pikachu to hop on his shoulder, which he promptly did. Then he headed out the door, feeling the cool brisk air meet his face and broke out into a jog, heading towards that strange signal in his head, because he thought that it would yield some answers for them.

* * *

(1) I mean really. Those healing machines must have some sort of miracle cure that just automatically heal pokemon, because in the games and anime Ash only has to stick around for like twenty minutes and BAM! healed pokemon.

Anyways, the hardest part for me in this chapter was definitely writing out that enormous battle scene. I apologize if it isn't all that great. I'm still trying to improve my battling descriptions. Plus, writing a like, 30-way pokemon battle is tough!

Anyways, Like I said I'm reallllllllyyyyy busy around this time of the year my dear readers! Once, summer rolls around, I'll have plenty of time! So just a bit longer my friends!

Thank you for your patience, reading and please review!

-Mekon


	11. Ch10: A Fighting Chance

**DISCLAIMER**

Would you like to nickname your ownership...wait it's level -1000000. Your game has crashed.

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

' ' = aura speech

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

"_But why would they attack me?" Ash asked, "I'm not causing the world extreme distress am I?"_

"_Don't be ridiculous Ash. Of course you aren't," Dawn said, completely sure of that. _

"_I haven't noticed any strange occurrences with weather or any natural disasters on the news or anywhere for that matter either, " Gary added._

"_Maybe it's something only pokemon know about?" Tracy hypothesized, "It's not like we know everything about them." Everyone was quiet, because they knew that was a possibility._

"_Know anything Pikachu?" Ash asked, hoping that maybe Pikachu had some sort of innate knowledge about this whole situation._

"_Errrr nothing that I can distinctly pick out..." Pikachu answered sadly. Ash was quiet and contemplated on what to do._

"_I'm going for a walk," Ash announced. They looked alarmed at his announcement, seeing as it might not be safe right now._

"_You shouldn't go yet. There could be more hostile pokemon out there," Misty said, worried for Ash's well-being. _

"_hmm I don't thinks so. I don't sense any near. You feel anything Latias?" Ash asked. She shook her head, not feeling any hostile emotions of any kind. He nodded. "I'll be right back in about twenty minutes or so." _

"_Well take someone with you. Pikachu at least," Brock said, wanting to ensure Ash's safety. He nodded and motioned for Pikachu to hop on his shoulder, which he promptly did. Then he headed out the door, feeling the cool brisk air meet his face and broke out into a jog, heading towards that strange signal in his head, because he thought that it would yield some answers for them._

* * *

Ch10: A Fighting Chance

Far from the earthly confines that holds down the pokemon world.

It was a strange place alright. Shapes and time seemed to just float and waver like the heat of a desert, while reality and imagination danced in a rare waltz across the ethereal dance floor all around them. Stars, galaxies, whole worlds swirled and purled around, like a bright milkshake against the bluest-black. Flashes of past, present, and future flitted in and out of focus on the walls, relaying, showcasing and foretelling.

Father did indeed have such outlandish tastes, Mew decided as she flew through the hallowed halls to the main room. She was already running late!

Finally, she noticed the brilliant light of the main room up ahead and rushed through the doorway. She squinted her eyes, forgetting the fact that the main room was of the purest white, such a contrast to the enigmatic halls which facilitated the travel there.

"Ahh Mew we have been waiting for you," a loud powerful voice echoed around the room.

"Hello Father," Mew said happily, "Are you well?" She took notice of his unusual color change, briefly questioned it internally, but dismissed it, taking her place among the many others.

"There have been better days. Please take a seat," He answered back kindly. She nodded as she moved to her seat.

"Hi Lugia," Mew greeted as she took her place next to The Beast of the Sea," How's the family?"

"Doing well. Silver is growing up quickly. He has become very powerful and I wouldn't be surprised if he took my place within a couple decades or so." Lugia answered with a chuckle. Mew giggled, imaging Lugia's son in his place trying to do his.

"Shhhh you two. Father is about to speak," Suicune said, turning back to face the Father. Mew and Lugia quieted and faced the father awaiting his speech.

"Welcome my children. I am glad all of you...well most of you are here today," the Father greeted, tiredness in his voice, and apparent in his body too. He appeared before them, not as flesh and blood, but like a ghostly apparition, transparent and holographic. It was quite apparent that he was communicating from a strange ethereal realm far from the natural plane of existence.

"An unfortunate loss indeed," Ho-Oh responded sadly. The loss of Latios was indeed a tough blow to their strange and mismatched family. Latios was a cherished member of their family, and when they had all received word of his death five years ago, they were shocked and deeply saddened, some much more than others. But that was five years ago.

"Latias is not here either," Rayquaza answered a little too quickly, which was not missed by the others, but was ultimately ignored.

"Quite. She is safe..." He answered, "And very happy. Do not worry your mind about such things Rayquaza." Rayquaza quieted almost immediately, a bit embarrassed that he had reacted so quickly.

"But nonetheless, this is not the matter to which you all were called here to discuss," He continued, "I'm quite sure you all have noticed that my coloration is not of normal standards." It was true, he was tinted in a dark red, not customary to his usual appearance.

"Why is that Father?" Celebi asked, concerned with the amount of fatigue she sensed emanating from him. She hoped that he was not ill.

"It is of a very grave cause that I appear to you out of slumber this day. And quite naturally it is a matter of worldly importance," He responded, "Corruption has spread to..."

He did not finish, however, because his attention was diverted to the newly appeared figure in the doorway: the infamous science-born pokemon, Mewtwo.

* * *

Just as Ash walked out of the door.

Ash, contemplative, pursued that unusual signal that seemed to resound through his frame. He didn't know what drove him to follow the invisible, intangible sign, but whatever it was, he knew at least it wasn't hostile.

"Ash are you sure it's safe out here?" Pikachu questioned, not feeling comfortable in the slightest. It may have been nice and bright out, but that never meant there were not hostiles afoot.

"Of course. Besides if we are attacked, I'm sure you could handle it Pikachu," Ash praised, effectively pumping up Pikachu's ego.

"Of course!" Pikachu assured proudly, happy that Ash knew that he could count on him. Soon, however, Pikachu regretted his quick response as Ash stopped in front of that devilish forest that they had exited just this morning.

"Ready buddy?" Ash asked, steeling himself. He had to figure out what that feeling was!

"Waaaiii-" Pikachu started, but was cut off as Ash grabbed him and rushed into the underbrush of the forest, with a protesting Pikachu tucked securely underneath his arm.

Finally, Ash stopped in the middle of the forest floor, letting Pikachu down. Hovering around them was an eerie sort of serene calm, a sign that Pikachu, in particular, did not enjoy.

"Weird. I swear that I felt something calling me around here," Ash said looking around avidly for anything unusual.

"I don't know Ash. Maybe it's just you," Pikachu responded, half glad that there was no conflict and half-irritated at the lack of conflict due to apparent false tension.

"Oh well looks like we'll head ba-" Ash started, but was cut off as a loud creaking noise resounded overhead. He looked up with horror as his eyes laid witness to a rapidly falling tree... that was on fire.

There was no escape, and Pikachu prepared for the worst. But the crash and subsequent burning was instead replaced by a quick gust of air and a high amount of speed. Then, the loud fall of the fell tree resounded through the forest, not landing on either of them. Pikachu opened his eyes to see his trainer, now transformed and away from the tree.

"Phew good thing being a Latios also gives quick reflexes," the black eon said as he turned to find the source of their endangerment, after putting out the fire by surrounding it with a Protect which suffocated the fire. Briefly, Pikachu wondered how and when Ash learned to remain so calm.

"Must be those legendary genes coming through," Pikachu muttered to himself, glad that they had however. He would have been a flat cooked Pikachu-pancake by now if not for Ash. The electric mouse didn't have a long time to dwell on it however.

"Pssst! Pikachu look," Ash said, gesturing for him to come over. Ash was low to the ground, his vision just barely above the fallen tree truck's splintered bark. Pikachu rushed over, and his sensitive hearing began to pick up dredges of what sounded like a nearby battle. Once next to Ash, his suspicions were confirmed. Except, the combatants were not quite normal Kanto pokemon.

On one side, a small Riolu was fiercely fighting against a large, menacing, extremely hostile Tangrowth, most likely a by-product of the mornings' battles. Upon closer inspection, Ash and Pikachu noticed that the clearly male Riolu seemed to be guarding a fallen body behind him, clear determination on his face. Pikachu was about to hop in and help the injured fighting-type, but stopped as the wild Tangrowth stomped in anger and let loose a barrage of tentacles, intent on taking out the defiant Riolu.

Ash watched, unable to do anything in time, as the dark blue tentacles made their way to the small Riolu with deadly force. The Riolu scrunched his face up in concentration and as the first tentacle approached, he suddenly jumped out way, positioning himself directly above the large Tangrowth. It was amazing how fast he was! Suddenly, the Riolu's foot lit up with a powerful and uncharacteristic Blaze Kick and came straight down onto the Tangrowth, scoring a direct hit and enveloping it in a damaging flame. The Tangrowth roared in pain as it flailed around wildly, trampling the plant life below it's feet. It hurried away, intent on immediately finding a water source to soothe its injuries, leaving the strange Riolu.

The Riolu heaved heavily as he landed back on the ground. He kneeled on one knee briefly, taking a breath. Then he turned around towards the body and knelt down, looking as if he was checking up on whatever and whoever it was, making sure he or she were alright.

The assault wasn't over yet however. An ear-piecing caw shrilled through the forest trees from above announcing another challenger. Pikachu and Ash looked up to see a sky of brown feathers and deadly talons, their old nemesis's: a large flock of Spearow and Fearow. The Riolu took a deep breath and laid the body back down on the floor gently before turning around with defiance. He would fight to the death to defend what was important to him. However, Ash knew that if they didn't do something, that Riolu was as good as dead. Not a second later, the Spearow and Fearow began diving in droves, all headed towards the vulnerable fighting type, their talons extended, their beaks primed.

"Pikachu! Thunder go!" Ash said, commanding Pikachu forward as he charged his own attack. Pikachu nodded and jumped into the middle of the flock. A second later, electricity filled the air as Pikachu's branches of electricity zapped and fried almost all of the nearby hostile bird pokemon. Ash hurried to place himself between the Riolu and the oncoming flock, grabbing the remaining enemies with a burst of Psychic and throwing them away. Once again the skies cleared and silence returned to the forest.

"Phew. Good job Pikachu," Ash said petting Pikachu on the head with his claws.

"Thanks Ash. You didn't do to bad yourself," Pikachu responded kindly. Ash nodded in appreciation and turned towards the Riolu.

"Hey you alright?" Ash asked, floating forward a little, wanting to make sure the emanation pokemon was alright. He looked awfully beat up. The Riolu slowly backed up, knowing that he didn't stand a chance against Ash and Pikachu combined, but he wouldn't give up. He was suddenly stopped, noticing that he was up against a tree. There was no where to go.

"Hey relax. We're here to help," Pikachu said, hurrying forward. Then he caught sight of what the Riolu was guarding and stepped a little closer. It was a fainted Kirlia. The Riolu rushed forward, putting himself between Pikachu and the Kirlia, igniting his right foot in flames aggressively, warning Pikachu to not take a step further.

"Pikachu take a step back," Ash said ushering for the small electric mouse to back off. Pikachu nodded as he slowly retreated behind Ash. It looked like the Riolu wouldn't trust any other pokemon at the moment, leaving only one solution. Ash closed his eyes, allowing his form to morph into his normal human form. The Riolu watched with fascination, amazed and stunned. His foot even stopped enveloping itself in a deadly blaze.

"There we are. So are you alright Riolu?" Ash asked, familiar with this kind of pokemon at least. Still Riolu didn't speak. Ash closed his eyes, knowing what to do.

'Hey can you hear me? Are you okay? Do you need some help?' Ash asked, speaking through his mind and aura. The Riolu stopped, feeling Ash's pure aura. Briefly he studied Ash's appearance. He looked trustworthy enough, and his strong aura confirmed it.

'Who are you?' he asked back, still wanting to make sure that he and Kirlia were safe. He didn't want to risk anything.

'I'm Ash. And this is my best friend Pikachu,' Ash answered with a smile, wanting to make the Riolu trust him more, 'Don't worry we won't hurt you or your friend. We just want to help.' Trust was an important thing for Riolus and Lucarios; Ash knew that. After a minute or so, Riolu relaxed a bit, but only just. He wasn't properly trained yet, but he could tell that Ash's Aura was pure, but he still wanted to make sure.

'Manifest your aura first. I wish to see it,' the Riolu said, knowing that possessing an aura of that magnitude would allow one to manifest it in some way. His mother had always told him that the Aura would never lead him wrong. Ash quirked his eyebrow but nodded. He took a step back and concentrated on his strangely powerful aura, and within seconds, a bright teal orb of aura formed between his hands for the small Riolu to lay his eyes upon. He was surprised. He didn't expect a human to be able to fully manifest their Aura. Then again, from what he observed, Ash wasn't exactly "just a human".

'Trust me now?' Ash asked dissipating his aura sphere.

'For the time being... yes. Until you prove otherwise,' Riolu said, relenting and deciding to trust them. What other choice did he have?

"So what happened?" Ash asked, his speech somehow magically understood by the Riolu, another mystery to decipher for the fighting-type. He guessed that Ash could communicate to any pokemon, however, given that he was part-pokemon himself.

"We were attacked," he answered simply, still tending to the delicate psychic-type with the utmost care, not looking at them now.

"What are you guys doing here anyway? We don't see many Riolu or Kirlia in Kanto," Pikachu asked, getting the vibe that they were trusted now.

"It's a long story," Riolu responded with a sigh, still concentrating on waking Kirlia up. Ash and Pikachu watched as Riolu tenderly shook the fallen Kirlia. From what they could observe, the Kirlia was female. After a bit, Kirlia groaned as she slowly opened her eyes to see the face of her friend, a human and a small yellow pokemon.

"Ugh. What happened?" Kirlia asked, slowly standing up with the assistance of Riolu.

"That Tangrowth knocked you out with a Mega Drain attack right after he separated me from you with a Stun Spore," Riolu said, lamenting the fact that he had allowed his friend to get hurt, "I'm sorry. I should have been paying more attention. It's my fault that you got hurt. I should have known he would go after you!" Kirlia shook her head.

"Calm down. It's not your fault Riolu. You did your best. You always do," Kirlia responded with a smile, "I wouldn't trust my life with anyone else." Riolu looked away, half ashamed, half blushing. Pikachu and Ash raised their eyebrows towards each-other. This was definitely interesting. "So who are they?"

"I'm Ash," the human said gesturing to himself first, "and this is Pikachu. We saved you guys from the Spearow and Fearow attack." Pikachu nodded in confirmation.

"Thank you then. We are in your debt," she answered with a weak smile and small curtsy.

"I still think I could have taken em," Riolu grumbled folding his arms. Kirlia rolled her eyes.

"You always do," Kirlia said, poking Riolu playfully with a laugh. However, she fell onto the ground right afterward, moaning in pain. Riolu was immediately at her side, supporting her.

"the jewel...get..it," she whispered out, pointing past the trees. Ash and Pikachu looked at each other, completely out of the loop now. What was she talking about!

Riolu nodded, gently placed her on the floor, and hurried over the fallen tree, returning with a small jewel in his hands. It was pinkish, and shimmered mystically with an other-worldly power that seemed to emanate from it. Ash, himself, felt a very strange, strong pull towards it.

"So that's what I sensed!" Ash exclaimed now understanding what that original, strange signal was. It was even stronger here and seemed to just be beckoning for him. But that could be discussed later. Right now, they needed to get back to a safe place. "Hey we need to get you guys to a safe place. Do you want me to fly you guys back to my friends? We have a great healer with us right now."

"Fly? How can you fly? Do you mean let one of your pokemon fly us there? " Kirlia asked, looking up at Ash with confusion and noticing the pokeballs on his waist. Last time she checked, humans couldn't fly by themselves. But Ash only smiled, and then, a moment later, he had transformed, showing his alternate form: a Black Latios.

"Ho...how?" Kirlia asked, awestruck by this unusual human. Ash rolled his eyes really enjoying his new ability by now. Even pokemon were surprised by his unique skill.

"If we get back, I'll tell you my story and you guys tell us yours okay?" Ash said, motioning for Kirlia, Riolu, and Pikachu to hop onto his back. Pikachu readily hopped on and assured the two that it was perfectly safe for them to board. Riolu briefly placed the jewel on the ground before assisting the weakened Kirlia with her boarding. As soon as he had done this, Riolu snatched up the pink orb from the grass and promptly placed himself behind Kirlia, securing the orb in the process. It was obviously enormously important to Riolu and Kirlia.

As soon as they were all settled, Ash took off, reveling in a strange new-found strength of an unknown source. But the boy didn't dwell on it long and instead let his mind roam as free as the skies he flew in.

* * *

In the heavenly room of the legendaries.

All eyes followed the father's to the un-natural creation before them, the bastard child of science and nature itself, an abomination in the eyes of the natural. But the children of the First, were surprised greatly when the Father spoke.

"Mewtwo, you are very nearly late," He lightly reprimanded, his voice suggesting friendly familiarity.

"I am sorry Arceus. Your strange hallowed halls are quite the challenge to navigate without previous experience or guidance," Mewtwo apologized, bowing to The First. They others, save for Mew, were eying him warily, mistrust apparent in their eyes.

"My children. Do you feel animosity towards this one? Why?" Arceus questioned, turning his gaze toward each legendary in the room. Most looked away shamefully, but as Arceus passed him, Dialga stood his ground defending himself.

"He is un-natural father! Not of true pokemon origins! A sham made from Mew, made of human hands," Dialga responded harshly. Mewtwo did not enjoy his comment, but he had learned that he was not just a copy and was a pokemon, all in his own right. Therefore, he remained silent.

"Your pride and prejudice against humans blinds you Dialga. It does not matter whether or not Mewtwo is of my creation. Just like myself, he was not born of my power. Does that prevent him from claiming his right to life and the right to call himself a Pokemon?" Arceus argued in his infinite wisdom, challenging Dialga's statement.

Dialga shuffled in his spot, unable to defend or agree. In either case, he would be wrong.

"Acceptance. Something you must learn...all of you," Arceus condescended, "Do not be so quick to judge those you do not understand. Mewtwo has gone through much to get where he is today. He has proven himself to me and is worthy in my eyes. If anyone wishes to say otherwise, please speak." Once his speech ended, silence pervaded the white room, casting a spell of respect over all the pokemon there. None dared to defy or speak out against Arceus.

"Thank you Arceus. I appreciate your defense of myself," Mewtwo said respectfully as he walked over to take his appointed place next Mew. Arceus nodded in acknowledgment.

"It would seem that almost-tardiness is inherent in your genes Mew," Arceus joked, causing a chuckle to ripple through the legendaries, breaking the ice that had formed in the room. Soon the laughter died down, resting the entire meeting with it.

"Well returning, there is a reason why I appear before you today in this unusual coloration present and in such a haggard state," Arceus pontificated, still able to make grand speeches despite his lack of strength. Quiet fixated attention was paid to the Father. Whatever he was about to reveal would be of the utmost importance.

"Corruption has spread to one of the orbs, causing me to take on the element strongest against it. I fear, however, that this corruption will soon spread, perhaps even corrupting myself if something is not done," Arceus lamented, his voice growing weaker. Immediately, many legendaries volunteered themselves to retrieve this jewel, all wishing for the health of their father.

"Hush my children. Even if you did descend to Earth to search for the jewel, you would not find it. I cannot even locate it anymore because it's corruption clouds my vision," He said sadly, his form quivering.

"What are we to do then! We cannot just stand here and do nothing!" Entei raged, prepared to take any course necessary to assist Father. Many voices rose up in response to Entei, supporting his sentiment.

"There Is Nothing You Can Do To Stop This Corruption," Arceus boomed out, extinguishing the fires of his children's fervor. "Even if you somehow were able to locate the corrupted jewel, none of you have the ability to correct this corruption. For not a single one here is in perfect balance with pokemon and humans, which is the nature of this curse. None here are capable. In fact, most of you would most likely be corrupted just by being in its presence." His children stared at him. Was there no hope? Was there truly no way to help their father? Then Mewtwo stood up.

"I believe in one person capable in purifying this evil Arceus. He understands the balance between pokemon and humans above all else," Mewtwo said bravely. They others looked at him like he was crazy. If none of them could do anything about it, how could someone else?

"Yes. There is one. One whom most, if not all, of you have met. He has already changed the fate of so much and I fear that he must do so again," He said, tiredness growing in his voice, "But, locate him, I cannot. My powers are limited in this hibernated state and weakened even more by this evil."

"Ash," Mewtwo said simply, knowing full well the eventually destiny of Arceus' chosen. Arceus nodded.

"The Chosen must first learn however. He is not ready to fight this evil. His powers are not fully realized yet. Each and everyone of you, if possible, must teach him. He is capable of much with help and guidance," Arceus responded and paused, "My time grows short... My children, I trust you to uphold the balance of this world, as you have done for centuries. This is the most dire time and only as a family will we be able to get through this without destruction. I bid you all farewell." And with that, Arceus' image disappeared into the void of the unknown, leaving his offspring to rectify the rapidly defiling world below.

* * *

Meanwhile back with Latias and the others

'I'm worried about him,' Latias said, 'He hasn't come back yet, and it's been such a long time since he left.' She was getting quite fidgety in her seat. Latias didn't particularly enjoy long periods of time away from her trainer.

"Relax. Ashy-boy can take care of himself. Plus, Pikachu is with him anyway," Gary said folding his arms.

"Don't worry Latias. I'm sure Ash will be back soon," Brock replied, attempting to ease her anxiety. Truly, however, they were all worried about him. Then all of a sudden, the lab computer's phone began to ring loudly. Professor Oak rushed over and answered the video phone with the others slowly trailing behind them for lack of anything else to do.

"Hi Professor Oak!" A very happy voice said from the other side. He wore large glasses and a forest green shirt, along with an extremely enthusiastic face. He looked much older given the three years that had passed.

"Hey! Stop hogging all of the camera Max!" A female voice said in the back ground before pushing her face into the camera too. A brunette made her way into the scene, her apparel of the most characteristic red, along with long hair flares that ran parallel to her body. (1)

"Hello May, Max. How are you?" Professor Oak greeted happily, remembering the Hoenn coordinator and her brother, "Are you doing well?"

"Well sort of. It's a bit complicated," May said nervously, twiddling her thumbs, "Here. I'll let Professor Birch tell you." And soon, said persons appeared on the screen.

"Ahh Professor Oak. Just the man I needed to see," Professor Birch said as he took his place between the two kids, greeting the professor kindly. Behind Professor Oak, Brock greeted May, Max and Professor Birch also glad to see them again, while the others were introduced to the new faces.

"Well what do I owe this pleasure professor?" the Kanto pokemon professor asked, taking a seat at the monitor.

"It's hard to explain. But I'll just ask it outright. Have you guys noticed any strange aggression amongst the pokemon in your region? Or maybe its just strange anomaly happening in Sinnoh and Hoenn and Johto?" Professor Birch answered cryptically.

"Hoenn, Johto and Sinnoh are having the same problems as well?" Professor Oak answered back with worry. Clearly something was wrong.

"So I assume that Kanto is experiencing something of the same magnitude correct?" Professor Birch responded, interpreting Oak's outburst. The pokemon professor nodded gravely.

"Excuse me," Professor Oak said, turning to the others, "But I need to talk to Professor Birch. Please wait outside or in the living room." They nodded and headed off to either destination. They ultimately decided to wait outside to catch Ash on his way back.

"What do you think is going on? Pokemon all over the world are going on crazy rampages. If they are anything like the pokemon we encountered last night..." Misty said, shuddering by thinking about it. It was indeed a terrifying concept.

"We don't know and that's the problem. There's too much going on here, something bigger than any of us," Brock answered back contemplatively. Some sort of information had to be uncovered for anyone to help in what could be a potential crisis of all the world. So they just sat there in thought, attempting to decipher this strange riddle that had been written across the world. Then their thoughts were suddenly pieced by a voice in their heads.

'Hey! It's Ash!' Latias said mentally, pointing to the sky where a Black Latios was approaching. And Within minutes, Ash had landed in front of his friends.

'Hey everyone. I got a surprise,' Ash announced, as Pikachu hopped down. Then afterward a Riolu jumped off with a Kirlia safely in tow, still clutching that pink luminescent orb. 'We've got some new friends!'

"Wow! What pokemon are those!" Dawn gushed as she took out her pokedex, pointing first to Kirlia and then to Riolu.

"Kirlia, the Emotion Pokemon. Kirlia are highly perceptive of its Trainer's feelings. It dances when it is feeling happy. It has a psychic power that enables it to distort the space around it and see into the future... Riolu, the Emanation Pokemon. It has the peculiar power of being able to see emotions such as joy and rage in the form of waves. They communicate with one another using their auras," Dawn's pokedex informed them. (2)

'Oh you're both so cute!' Latias gushed, picking up the small Kirlia and crushing her in a hug. Ash sweat-dropped.

"How does she speak without moving her mouth?" Riolu asked, clearly confused, "She's not using Aura." Ash cocked her head towards Latias as a cue. Latias got it and let Kirlia down briefly. The two emotion-associated pokemon watched as this other "human" became enveloped in light and changed into a legendary eon dragon right before their eyes.

"Like this!" Latias said as she flew around Ash and the other two pokemon playfully, stopping right next to Ash after two or three cycles, allowing the two new pokemon to lay their eyes upon her new appearance. She was quite beautiful and looked perfect floating right next to Ash.

"You both look so perfect together! Awwww are you two mates?" Kirlia asked clapping her hands in delight, causing both of them to blush brightly.

"Uhhhh no," Ash said, a mutual red shared between both eons on his face.

"But it's sooo obvious that you guys both like each-other!" Kirlia responded, "I bet even Riolu can sense it." Riolu smirked in response, folding his arms in mocking response, briefly dropping the pink orb, something he did not intend to do.

Then as the orb landed onto the ground, a boom of pinkish energy rippled from it, smashing into Ash, Riolu, Latias, Kirlia, Pikachu and the surrounding humans. The humans didn't notice anything. Ash and Latias closed their eyes, but didn't feel pain, but instead strange empowerment coursing through them. Kirlia seemed to be fine too, almost completely healed actually by that strange burst of energy. Pikachu didn't sport any visible changes and none that he could feel either. The same could not be said for Riolu. He was sprawled out on the ground, completely fainted. The humans and present pokemon hurried to him full of concern, all wondering what in the world had just happened.

"Riolu! Are you okay?" Kirlia asked, shaking Riolu vigorously. He didn't come to and looked much worse compared to how he looked coming out of the forest.

"What was that! And what did that orb do to him!" Pikachu said, not hurt or empowered. He didn't even feel a thing when that energy wave hit him. The humans didn't see the blast of energy, but they could obviously see that Riolu had been knocked out.

"We need to get him to Nurse Joy. She's still here and the machine should still be connected," Tracy said, thinking quickly. They couldn't just stand there looking at Riolu.

"Ash, you handle to jewel. I think I can trust you with it," Kirlia said, handing him the volatile orb which she had picked up after it had fallen. Reluctantly, Ash reached forward to take possession of the now-deemed dangerous orb. But yet another unexpected event took place just as the jewel touched his claws.

A blinding white light burst from the pink sphere, enveloping everyone in a magnanimous light. Then, it just disappeared...along with the jewel.

Ash stared at his claws with blank eyes. What had he just done? The others stared at him too, not sure what had just happened. Kirlia, however, looked on with even more amazement than the others.

"Finally! We have found you Chosen One!" Kirlia said kneeling before him. Ash felt extremely un-comfortable with the way that Kirlia seemed to be worshiping him. He didn't even know what he had just done.

"Uhh? What?" Ash asked, completely baffled now. Kirlia was about to explain further, but she was reminded of her best friend's condition by a painful moan. Riolu was their immediate concern at the moment.

"Let's talk inside. Riolu needs to be healed first," Pikachu interjected. Once the fighting-type was better, they could talk. She nodded and asked another favor of Ash, carrying Riolu; something to which he readily agreed. Soon, they were all headed back inside; they really hoped that Professor Oak was done with his call. Unknown to even Ash, as he carried Riolu into the lab, his, right now, covered up triangle's inner dot glowed a strange vivid, light violet color, no longer its old dark blue.

_'Maybe...just maybe... we have a fighting chance now,' _Kirlia thought as she followed her new friends into the building. The tide was evening out.

* * *

Giovanni lightly thrummed his fingers on his right pant leg in frustration and impatience as he watch a scale slowly light up from three to four. This elevator was taking forever. Finally, the elevator came to a stop on the seventh floor, the doors gracefully sliding apart to permit entry. After a moment, he carefully stepped out and made his way down the hallway.

This floor of the building was quite strange. The office located here was abominably miniscule. And it was strange, because it's dimensions did not fit the rest of the building's. But those who did not understand its secrets would pass it off as nothing unusual. Making his way to the window, Giovanni looked out into the land, seeing luscious forests and wild pokemon running around. Absentmindedly, he turned on the lamp that happened to be sitting on the desk next to the large window. It didn't turn on.

However, a few seconds later, a large humming sound resounded through the large office and the wall on the left of the desk opened up, revealing the secret passage that existed there. He turned and briskly made his way through the door. Once passing, the door closed, hiding, to outsiders, the secrets that the room held.

The new room was flush with chrome, shiny and shimmering. All around people worked, chattered and discussed their new findings on illicit experiments, a common characteristic of Team Rocket scientists.

"Enjoying the view were we?" A squeaky old voice said, cackling with glee at his little joke.

"Dr. Namba. I presume you did not call me here to tell a joke, for the flight from Viridian to your lab here in Johto is not a pleasant one to make in one evening," Giovanni responded, his face barren of amusement. The mad scientist quickly sobered up, knowing full well that an angry Giovanni was not one to be messed with.

"Of course. I would be a fool to call you for a practical prank," Dr. Namba responded, "Please this way." He wished his boss was born with a larger sense of humor. Walking across the room, he made his way to another chrome door and went through it with Giovanni behind him. Inside, a large machine was there...the same machine from Giovanni's scientists, complete with rare sandy brown jewel inside. All around it, Dr. Namba's assistants were monitoring it and recording observations. Overhead, a large screen displayed information about the machine.

"I see you have safely received the machine," Giovanni commented, admiring the way it hummed and emanated power.

"Hmmm yes quite," Dr. Namba responded while crossing his arms, "I must say it was horribly inefficient, badly designed and prone to self-combustion when it arrived here. I've fixed that however with much effort." Giovanni grimaced at his slew of insults to his machine. But Namba was probably right, given the record of the scientists at the main base.

"Have you made any improvements that are not fixes?" he questioned, eying the enormously expensive and complex piece of machinery in front of him.

"Oh ho! Much much more than that. Range has significantly increased. The amount of control. Power. Everything you could ask from a miracle machine such as this. But this was not the reason why I called you here. In fact, this is all just a small thing compared to my latest discovery. A discovery that will rocket our organization to the seat of power in this world!" Dr. Namba exclaimed, clearly excited now.

"Well what is it then!" the team rocket boss asked impatiently. Dr. Namba waited a couple of moments, just to let the suspense heighten and grow. "WELL!"

"Oh Okay. This way," the mad scientist said, showing Giovanni a small terminal with what looked like a spinning radar.

"What does this radar have to do with anything?" Giovanni asked, clearly disappointed. However, he didn't even know what this machine was doing.

"What does it have to do with anything! What does it have to do with anything! It is everything! Don't you see what those glowing dots on the screen mean?" Dr. Namba exclaimed, clearly amazed that his boss was not able to make the connection.

"Well tell me what the hell it is then!" the Rocket boss said, clearly at the end of his rope. Dr. Namba sighed and muttered about unintelligent people under his breath.

"These glowing dots are resonance structures. They responded to the pulse of this machine the other night!" he exclaimed. Yet still, Giovanni didn't get it. "Sigh...it means that there are more of these jewels out there!"

* * *

(1) Anyone have any idea what word could be used to describe May's hairstyle?

(2) I just noticed that three of Ash's new pokemon in this story all can sense emotions. This means definite teasing later! :D

Welllll, a lot has happened in this chapter. So much in fact. Ash has got two new friends with a very interesting back ground it seems. And looks like the world is on the alert now, along with the other legendaries and Team Rocket!

Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what these orbs are? I've given ample hints, and not just in this chapter! ;)

Thank you for reading and please review! I would really appreciate it!

-Mekon

P.S. And I just can't wait until summer comes around. These last two weeks of school are being oh so very stressful. I will be soooo happy when this year finally ends! :/


	12. Ch11: One Step At A Time

**DISCLAIMER**

To not get sued for idealization!  
To allow my readers no frustration!  
To forgo anyone's accusation!  
Disclaiming ownership is my salvation!  
Mekon!... The Black Latios!  
This chapter blast off at the speed of light!  
Read and review now, so I continue to write!  
Yuppp thatttt's right!

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

**A/N **

**Sorry if anyone has asked me to review something or read something etc. I had decided to take a 2 week break from FF to gather my thoughts and re-organize so I haven't had a chance to read or respond yet. I'll get to it soon! **

**But anyways, enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Last Time:

"_Finally! We have found you Chosen One!" Kirlia said kneeling before him. Ash felt extremely un-comfortable with the way that Kirlia seemed to be worshiping him. He didn't even know what he had just done. _

"_Uhh? What?" Ash asked, completely baffled now. Kirlia was about to explain further, but she was reminded of her best friend's condition by a painful moan. Riolu was their immediate concern at the moment. _

"_Let's talk inside. Riolu needs to be healed first," Pikachu interjected. Once the fighting-type was better, they could talk. She nodded and asked another favor of Ash, carrying Riolu; something to which he readily agreed. Soon, they were all headed back inside; they really hoped that Professor Oak was done with his call. Unknown to even Ash, as he carried Riolu into the lab, his, right now, covered up triangle's inner dot glowed a strange vivid, light violet color, no longer its old dark blue._

_'Maybe...just maybe... we have a fighting chance now,' Kirlia thought as she followed her new friends into the building. The tide was evening out. _

* * *

"_What does this radar have to do with anything?" Giovanni asked, clearly disappointed. However, he didn't even know what this machine was doing._

"_What does it have to do with anything! What does it have to do with anything! It is everything! Don't you see what those glowing dots on the screen mean?" Dr. Namba exclaimed, clearly amazed that his boss was not able to make the connection. _

"_Well tell me what the hell it is then!" the Rocket boss said, clearly at the end of his rope. Dr. Namba sighed and muttered about unintelligent people under his breath._

"_These glowing dots are resonance structures. They responded to the pulse of this machine the other night!" he exclaimed. Yet still, Giovanni didn't get it. "Sigh...it means that there are more of these jewels out there!" _

* * *

Ch11: One Step At A Time

Ash looked worriedly at the small emanation pokemon that he carried in his claws. That strange pink jewel blast seemed to have magnified his injuries ten fold or possibly even more, giving a great cause for concern. Constant groans of pain were voiced from Riolu with every shift of Ash's body, causing the bearer to grimace as well.

"Hold on Riolu! You're going to be okay," Ash said as he increased his flying speed, followed closely by the others. They were lucky that the group hadn't wandered too far from the lab, and as soon as they crossed the threshold of Professor Oak's lab, a cry rang out for Nurse Joy's immediate assistance.

"What on Earth is going on here!" Nurse Joy exclaimed as she traversed the stairs to the lower levels of the lab, just preparing to leave.

'Quick! This Riolu is hurt really bad and needs your help!' Ash said, holding out his claws to hand over the hurt fighting-type. All Nurse Joy needed was to catch a glimpse of the injured pokemon to know just how terrible the wounds were.

"Quickly. We have to begin treatment immediately if there is to be any hope of survival," Nurse Joy said, taking Riolu and rushing to the quite convenient portable healing machine upstairs which was luckily the last thing that Nurse Joy had planned to pack up. The pokemon nurse was extremely worried. Even if they did hook up Riolu to the machine...there was a substantial chance that he still wouldn't make it. And to make matters worse, he was developing a high fever.

"I need water, fever medicine and towels now!" she barked at the pokemon and trainers, alerting them to the true danger Riolu was in. They all rushed off to retrieve the needed items, knowing that Riolu's survival depended on them. They gathered up the supplies and relinquished them to the apt nurse.

"Alright. I need room to work. Wait downstairs or outside. Just don't hover around my work area," Nurse Joy commanded, her orders suitable to the emergency at hand.

Reluctantly, they slowly filed out with Kirlia taking the rear. As she exited she gave one last glance behind her, her thoughts drifting towards the valiant fighting type who always protected her as a tear glided down her pale face and splashed onto the floor

"Please be okay Riolu," she whispered as she closed the door behind her, leaving her best friend's fate quite literally in the hands of Nurse Joy.

* * *

A couple of hours later

It was getting dark, and Ash briefly wondered how long Riolu had been under Nurse Joy's intensive care. After she had dismissed them, they had gone outside, trying to take their minds off of the ailing fighting-type. However, it had only a minimal effect on their worried souls and minds, and soon they had retreated inside, deciding to occupy their time with some TV and other forms of inside entertainment.

But that had come and gone quickly, and now here they were, some asleep and some wide awake. Among the awake were Ash, Latias, Kirlia, Brock and Pikachu. Misty and Dawn had decided to take a nap, a bit worn from the day's events, and their pokemon had subsequently followed.

So the five sat, quietly thinking in comfortable silence before Brock broke it with his ever persistent curiosity.

"So tell me Kirlia. How did you and Riolu get here in the first place? Both of your species aren't exactly native to Kanto," he asked, staring intently at the green and white psychic pokemon. Kirlia shuffled in her seat, a bit apprehensive about retelling her tale; many pokemon secrets were attached to it.

"It's okay Kirlia. You can trust Brock," Ash assured, noticing her obvious discomfort, "and you can trust me, Latias and Pikachu." Kirlia sighed.

"C'mon Kirlia. Try," Latias soothed, "I know you can do it."

Kirlia sighed, as her shoulders dropped with her escaping breath, "I...I can't...not until Riolu is awake." They were a bit disappointed, but they nodded in complete understanding.

"That's alright. But in the meantime relax. You and Riolu are safe here," Pikachu said, knowing they all needed to rest after the excitement of the last few days. Kirlia nodded in sincere thanks, appreciating all of their kindness.

"Why don't you go meet all of our Pokemon Kirlia? They are out back," Ash suggested, hoping that it would take her mind off of such dreary thoughts of her best friend. She nodded as she waltzed off to find the pokemon, leaving the group to talk.

"What do you make of this Ash?" Brock asked, his face furled in deep thought.

"I really don't know. With Riolu and then Kirlia and then that Orb, me being the Chosen One again and all the other stuff that has happened in the last few days, I'm exhausted too," Ash said, clutching his oncoming head-ache, "So I'm still a bit overwhelmed." Latias frowned and slowly placed her hands on Ash's shoulders, moving her hands in a slow and wonderful massage.

'Shhh Relax Ash,' Latias soothed as she began to work on his extremely knotty shoulders. Ash sighed happily as he felt a lot of stress leave him and smiled appreciatively at Latias. Brock and Pikachu witnessed the scene with extreme interest, one with reserved and friendly jealousy, the other a bit alarmed for Ash. Ash still didn't know what pokemon courting and mating consisted of! Pikachu made it a mission to talk to Ash as soon as possible, because he kept either forgetting or getting distracted.

"Awww that's soooo cute!" a feminine voice gushed as she clapped her hands together, causing Ash to groan as he easily identified the voice.

"Mommmmm!" Ash said, his face now beat red, but Latias didn't stop her administrations. And he had to admit to himself that he didn't really want her to stop either. So he had to endure her insinuating looks and winks, his face growing redder each time as his mother continued to watch with rapt attention. It didn't help that Brock and Pikachu were giggling and laughing quietly there either.

After some time, Latias stopped her massage, but left her soft hands there for a few more seconds, just reveling in the brief contact, and then she painfully wretched them away. Ash turned his fire red face towards Latias to find her face as red as his. There was so much tenderness and care he could see there, and he smiled gratefully, relaying all that he needed to to her.

"Wellllll if you two love-dragons are done!" Brock and Pikachu chimed together, shattering their little moment, "It's time for dinner." Mrs. Ketchum couldn't control herself, and burst out giggling and laughing.

Ash and Latias buried their faces in their laps, wishing they could become invisible. Then they realized that they could and did. But it didn't really help them in anyway.

"Hey we know you're still there you know! But we don't know what you guys are dooooiiiinggg!" Brock sang out, insinuation thick in his speech. Ash and Latias' faces burned even hotter at the jest, feeling as if their blushes could still be seen in their invisible state.

"Oh stop it Brock. Can't you see they are so embarrassed already," Mrs. Ketchum said in-between laughs. Brock finally relented, but his face still held a toothy, mischievous smile.

"Come on you two!" Ash's mom said to the air, "It's time for dinner like he said." Ash relaxed a bit, never out of the mood to have a good meal. But as he turned visible again and into his human form, his thoughts didn't wander towards how delicious his mother's food would be. Instead, he thought about Latias' soft hands on his shoulders, and the care that they and her face held for him.

* * *

Dinner was wonderful, as usual. Mrs. Ketchum's culinary skills had obviously not deteriorated over the long years. In fact, they were as polished as ever. The pokemon were treated to Brock's special food mixes, all of them tailored to their specific tastes. Promptly, the specialized food was devoured by their respective pokemon, except by Kirlia. She sat, just staring at her barely touched food.

"What's wrong Kirlia? Don't like it?" Brock asked, worried that he had not made the correct mixture for the psychic-type. She shook her head. "Worried about Riolu?" Kirlia nodded sadly, attempting to eat a bit more. To be honest, they were all worried about the injured fighting-type. He was still under Nurse Joy's intensive care, and that was not an encouraging sign.

"I just want him to be okay," Kirlia sighed out as she slumped in her seat. Latias stooped down and hugged her, sympathizing with the hurting Kirlia. She knew what it was like to not know if a friend would survive or not.

Suddenly, small petite steps could be heard traversing the stairs above, footsteps that surely belonged to Nurse Joy. The pokemon nurse entered the dining area and dropped down into the nearest chair, taking off her cap and wiping her brow with it. She was completely exhausted.

"How's he doing?" Ash asked, eager to know the condition of Riolu. She sighed and closed her eyes for a long time, before finally turning to face Ash and give him answer.

"His fever has gone down...but...he's in a very severe coma at the moment. He's stable, but I don't know if he will wake up...ever," Nurse Joy answered with almost tangible depression. Not being able to fully save any pokemon was a horrible feeling. Her news silenced the room, casting a cloud of despair over both pokemon and humans.

"Can...can I see him?" Kirlia asked shakily, her words quickly translated by Ash. Nurse Joy sighed again, but consented to the visiting, leading the small psychic-type to Riolu's bedside upstairs in one of the guest rooms of the lab. Ash and the others followed, wishing to see Riolu as well.

As Ash opened the door, they were all able to catch sight of Riolu. It was a strange sight, seeing him there, wearing a peaceful face and without a care in the world, ironically, possibly never to see the world again. They allowed Kirlia to see Riolu first, giving her the appropriate privacy, waiting near the windows outside the room, deciding to look at the glittering stars.

Kirlia shut the door behind her quietly, and slowly walked up to the bed that held her best friend. He looked so serene and tranquil that it betrayed the bad news that Nurse Joy had relayed to them.

She decided to just sit next to him on the bed for a few seconds, just thinking about their friendship and all of their adventures. Then she turned her thoughts to the valiant fighting-type himself. They had been friends almost since birth, both hatching on the same day. They had taught each-other so much, supporting each-other through thick and thin, enduring challenges and sharing many special moments over many years. He was her best friend, and she owed her life to him. She owed a lot to him actually.

She slowly placed her hand in one of Riolu's paws feeling the slow beating of his heart, wishing that he would wake. She looked directly into Riolu's face, tears beginning to flow down the sides of her face. Slowly, she leaned down, closing her eyes.

"Please wake up soon Riolu," Kirlia begged quietly as she placed a small tender kiss on his cheek, her crystalline tears fell, splashing softly onto his chest. "Please...I need you here."

* * *

It had been horrible, sitting there right next to Riolu, his body unmoving and inanimate. The grim reality of his condition had hit Ash and his friends when no response, had come from their verbal encouragements and wishes. Kirlia had gone to sleep after her meeting, too taxed emotionally to stay up any longer, and afterward, everyone else had gathered on the lower floors.

So now they all sat downstairs, in silent reflection and contemplation, all thinking about Riolu and Kirlia.

"It's just so horrible. I wish there was something we could do for him and for Kirlia," Misty said as images of the still Riolu filled her head. Helplessness was not a very welcome feeling to the usually active water-pokemon trainer.

"But there's nothing we can do for him. While Riolu's asleep, all we can do is make sure Kirlia's stay here comfortable and happy with all of our support," Brock answered, "But we also need to figure out what has been going on over the last few days and where Riolu and Kirlia come from and that strange jewel. It all connects somehow; I just know it."

"Maybe Professor Oak has figured something out from his talk with all the other Professors," Dawn said, remembering Professor Oak's conversation with Professor Birch earlier, "They must have figured something out by now." And as if summoned by Dawn herself, Professor Oak just happened to walk straight into the room.

"Did I hear my name called?" Professor Oak asked as he paused in the room, "Did you kids need something?" It was a perfect opportunity to ask.

"Actually yes Professor," Brock responded, "We've been wondering if you have any new information about today's and yesterday's events. And we also want to know what you think about Kirlia and Riolu's sudden appearance here in Kanto which is such a long way away from any native land of theirs." Professor Oak paused and thought of an appropriate way to respond to Brock's query.

"Well so far, we, meaning myself and the other professors, have gathered that yesterday, there were strange attacks reported all over the world in no particular order or pattern, which is a strange phenomenon which we cannot explain yet. The attacks were actually all centered in a certain areas. However, this leads us to conclude that something or someone out there is upsetting the balance of the world and nature itself on a mass, but somehow specific, scale, something we have never seen before. As for the cause, we have no true lead to go on at the moment, but we are researching it as we speak," Professor Oak conveyed, adequately answering Brock's first question.

"And Riolu and Kirlia?" Misty pursued, "What do you think about them?"

"Hmmmm it is indeed extremely strange. Their appearance is almost so convenient to a point where it can be called fate. As for their origins, I do not have the faintest idea where they come from. They could originate from anywhere as far as Sinnoh or as close as Jhoto or even Kanto. Just because they are not native to Kanto, does not mean that they cannot originate from here. Truly, the only way for you to discover their birth place is by asking them," the pokemon professor answered pausing a couple of moments afterward, "Hopefully, all of these things will be answered soon... Well! I am off to bed! And you children should too. Good night!"

"Good night Professor," they all answered back. They watched as Professor Oak strode out and then resumed talking.

"Well what do you guys think?" Brock asked, wanting to know everyone's opinion on the matter.

'Well I think that whoever is offsetting the balance is using something powerful to do it...something ancient and fundamental to the balance of the world,' Latias answered smartly. Her conclusion made sense. After all, they had encountered this sort of thing before.

"You're probably right. But, like Professor Oak said, we don't even know who or what is doing it and how. I think Riolu and Kirlia know something though, and we should ask them as soon as we can," Brock answered, agreeing with the eon dragon.

"We will need to wait for Riolu to wake up first. Kirlia won't say anything without him there," Misty said, knowing that Kirlia would be completely focused on Riolu's recovery for the time being.

"Well we can't stay up all night thinking about it. First thing's first. We have to get some sleep," Ash said yawning, drawing a nod from everyone. They all bade each other goodnight and walked off to their respective sleeping quarters: Brock in one, Dawn and Misty in another, and Ash, Pikachu and Latias in the last.

* * *

Early Next Morning

Kirlia awoke but did not move, her eyes just staring blankly at the ceiling, not registering that she was now fully conscious, well at least emotionally and mentally. She wished that it was all a dream, and that she was actually safe at home next to mom and dad with Riolu perfectly healthy and safe. But the color and texture of the smooth ceiling told her otherwise. What was she going to do now? There was no way for her to save Riolu from his possibly permanent sleep. She turned over to her left and looked out of the window to see the tell-tale orange of the morning sun starting its ascent. She threw her legs over her temporary bed, which had been generously offered to her for comfort, and stepped onto the floor. Slowly, Kirlia stretched and quietly opened the door to find the hallways still dark. She peeked her head around the wooden door and saw that not a single soul occupied the black corridors. Tiptoeing down the halls, she decided to visit Riolu's room before everyone else woke up.

Upon reaching Riolu's door, she hesitantly turned the door knob with her psych and let the door slowly creak open. Half of her really wanted to see Riolu, but the other half was afraid of the pain that it would bring. Steeling her self, she swung the door open and walked in. She took note of the things that Nurse Joy had done to make sure Riolu was comfortable. But as she panned around the room and faced forward, Kirlia saw Riolu lying there like a corpse that breathed, and each step became harder to take.

Then she thought of Riolu and all the strength that he had, which allowed her to continue onward to his bed. She hopped up onto the bed, lightly jostling Riolu which unfortunately did nothing to his state of consciousness. Kirlia observed him for a couple of minutes from where she was sitting, right next to his pillow, just admiring him, and wishing he would wake up.

"Thought you would be here," a sudden soft voice said, startling Kirlia enough to make her lightly jump in her seat, shifting Riolu even further. Kirlia shakily looked up to see the smiling figure of Latias' human disguise.

"Oh ummm hi Latias," Kirlia said shyly, a bit mortified at being caught, "Whaa..what are you doing up?"

"Uhhhh nothing," Latias said quickly, her arriving blush hidden by the dark. It didn't work against Kirlia, however, who could easily sense her emotions.

"Up early to look at Ash a bit hmm?" Kirlia teased, a small smile forming on her face, causing Latias to blush even harder.

"Hmph, it's not like you are not doing the same with Riolu," Latias answered, crossing her arms a with a huff. Kirlia only answered with a sad sigh, not answering back with words, causing Latias to feel a bit guilty. "Hey..I'm sorry."

"No. It's okay. It's the truth anyway," Kirlia responded turning back to Riolu. Slowly, Latias advanced until she was right at the foot of the bed.

"So...how long?" Latias asked quietly, as she set herself gently on the bed. Kirlia looked up at her, not fully understanding her question. "How long have you liked him?" Kirlia hopped back in surprise, not expecting this sort of question.

"Uhhhhh...errrr...ummmm," Kirlia stammered, unable to come up with an appropriate answer, causing Latias to giggle lightly. It was just too cute. "How...how did you...Ugh!" Kirlia buried her face in her hands, shaking her head at the same time, only making Latias giggle louder, but she stopped for a serious question.

"Do you love him?" Latias asked with a curious face, knowing that Kirlia was plenty old enough to even have a mate. In fact, by what Latias could tell, Kirlia was schedule for evolution very soon. Kirlia let her hands down with a sigh, before looking at Latias for trust and understanding. She found it there and let it all out.

"Yes..." Kirlia answered with a blush, this being the first time she had told another.

"It's pretty easy to see," Latias answered back with a smile, patting Kirlia's back softly.

"Except by him...," Kirlia sighed, "You're lucky Latias."

"Hmm why?" Latias asked turning her gaze towards Kirlia.

"You have Ash," Kirlia answered back sadly, wishing she could show as much affection towards Riolu as Latias did towards Ash.

"And how is that any different from you having Riolu?" the eon dragon responded, confusion apparent in her speech. Kirlia stayed silent for a bit, just trying to summon the courage to answer.

"My...love for Riolu...it can never be returned," she responded looking away, despair filling in for sadness now.

"And why not? I think he likes you a lot," Latias answered back in encouragement, still not understanding the complications.

"It's not that...it is forbidden by the very nature of Pokemon itself. The mating between his species and mine is impossible... And I would never tie him down to myself under those circumstances. So I could never love him in full and he me, if he did. And even if he did, I wouldn't allow him to sacrifice his own potential happiness for me," Kirlia answered, knowing full well the tragedy she had fallen under. Latias quieted, now understanding the predicament Kirlia had found herself in. But it wasn't as different she thought compared to her prior situation. Slowly, after Latias gathered her thoughts, she responded.

"I know what you're talking about...I was in the same place before, for three years. Did you know that Ash wasn't always a Latios or Part-Latios? When I first met Ash in Alto Mare, he was just a human, a very cute one at that, but still just human. But I fell in love with him anyway, knowing that I would be disappointed. When he left though, I felt so lonely, because my brother had died that day also, to protect me and our home. So for three years, I was on my own, hoping that one day Ash would come back and that somehow, by some miracle, we could be together." Latias said, understanding in her voice, "And that miracle came. Sometimes, I still don't believe it."

"Well there won't be a miracle for me...There might not even be a chance for Riolu to wake up," Kirlia said, almost in tears now. Gently, Latias reached over, wiped away her collecting tears and held Kirlia's face in her hands.

"Hey," she whispered, "Just don't give up. Love is a strange and powerful thing. You'll see. So dry those tears and smile. We don't want Riolu to wake up and see you crying now do we?" Slowly, Kirlia shook her head and wiped her tears away, wanting to be strong for her best friend.

"Good. Let's go. Riolu needs his rest and everyone else is starting to wake up," Latias said, helping Kirlia off of the bed, "Don't worry Kirlia. Just take one step at a time and it will all work out."

* * *

One Week Later

Riolu had yet to awaken, and each day was harder than the/n last for Kirlia. But with much encouragement from her new friends, especially Latias, she was able to bear the lonely days with hopes for the next day being Riolu's day of awakening.

Over the last seven days, Ash and his friends had all relaxed, relishing in their free time and doing small amounts of training to keep in shape and form. The last week had been relatively peaceful, with no uprisings or attacks from the nearby pokemon. In fact, it looked like the nearby wild pokemon didn't remember anything from the large battle only a week ago, which gave Professor Oak another thing to ponder and question.

During this time, Kirlia had grown quite close to Latias, relying on her for guidance, advice and strength. She had also taken a friendly liking to Ash, and understood why Latias loved him so much.

It was late afternoon, and our heroes were relaxing in the backyard of Ash's house, having a lovely picnic lunch, which Brock had generously and skillfully cooked. After a morning of lightly training, Brock's food was a welcome promised land to our heroes and their pokemon.

"Mhmmm this is the best," Ash said, as he took a large bite out of one of his sandwiches, "Thanks Brock!" Misty and Dawn voiced the same thought as they took bites out of their sandwiches as well.

"No problem guys. A chef always loves to cook for those who love his food!" Brock answered as he took a seat on the old wooden picnic bench, passing a sandwich to Pikachu in the process.

'No but seriously! I think I love human food more than pokemon food now because of you Brock,' Latias said as she took a couple more sandwiches to eat, passing one to Kirlia afterward. Everyone laughed heartily at her comment; it was a perfect day so far. All the pokemon were happily chowing down; all the humans were happily chowing down. Nothing could ruin this moment...or so they thought.

* * *

In the Nearby bushes

"SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Quiet you too lunkheads!" a sharp female voice rang out as she smacked her two companions.

"I can't help it! Me's stomach be ta one that be making all dat noise! We haven't eaten in days!" a shrill voice responded, as he rubbed his sore tummy.

"Yeah! Just look at them! Chowing down like there's no tomorrow!" a distinctly male voice said with a groan as his stomach gave a loud lurch.

"Look! Meowth! James! I'm hungrier than a snorlax too, but we have to steal Pikachu! Then we can steal the food at the same time!" the female voice shrilled back, just as hungry as the others, "And while we are at it, we can steal all of the other pokemon and get rich from the boss!"

"Right! Let's get too it then!" James and Meowth said smashing their hands in their palms.

* * *

"Sooo who wants one of the last three sandwiches?" Brock asked as he lightly pushed the plate towards the others at the table.

"ME!" Ash roared as he made a mad grab for one of the last sandwiches. But as his hands reached the plate, there were no sandwiches to be had. "No! Where did they go!" He looked up to see the other three females with the sandwiches in their hands.

"Sooorrryyy Ash! Ladies first," Misty said in a singsong voice as she started to motion the sandwich towards her mouth.

"Hey! No fair!" Ash said, pouting in his seat, causing them all to laugh. "It's even worse that you're torturing me by eating them in front of me." Slowly, Ash watched, tortured, as Brock's delicious triangle wedges edged ever closer and closer to being eaten.

Then, out of nowhere, the ground began to shake violently, and the table began to vibrate vigorously, displacing everything on the table onto the floor.

"Earthquake!" Dawn asked with fear as she looked around wildly, wanting to make sure everyone was okay while still holding onto her sandwich.

"Ohh ho ho. I don't think so!" A voice, as if amplified by a megaphone, said, causing all of the pokemon and people to turn towards the loud voice. They staggered back a bit as they laid their eyes upon what had made the noise: a gigantic metal snorlax with an enormous red 'R' plastered on its stomach.

"Team Rocket!" Ash yelled as he looked up at the face of the metal snorlax and recognized Jessie, James and Meowth.

"Who are they?" Kirlia asked, having never seen Meowth's, Jessie's or James' face before.

"They are part of an evil organization bent on stealing other people's pokemon and taking over the world," Ash said, contempt in his voice.

"Hahhahahhahaha! That's right!" Jessie said with a cackle, "To protect our stomachs from starvation!"

"To steal your pokemon with no reservation!" James rhymed back in tune perfectly

"To gobble up you pokemon with glee!" Jessie said excitedly, just imagining the riches they would acquire.

"From rags to riches you shall see!" James answered, standing up confidently. Everyone down on the ground sweat dropped while watching their usual antics. It was just so routine.

"HEY TEAM ROCKETT! CAN YOU HURRY IT UP! I WANT TO FINISH THIS SANDWICH ALREADY!" Misty yelled from below.

"DON'T INTERUPT OUR MOTTO TWERP!" Jessie screamed from inside of the metal snorlax, causing everyone to roll their eyes, "Ahem! As we were saying before being rudely interrupted! Team Rocket! Blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender your pokemon and sandwiches or prepare to fight," James said, as he crossed his arms to look cool.

"Meeeeowwwthh! That's right!" Meowth said finally finishing their over-used and over-heard motto.

"Geez can't you guys come up with a more original motto for once?" Ash yelled to the three villains residing in the giant metal snorlax, a bit ticked off. He had faced a snorlax the a week before and really didn't feel like facing another one, especially Team Rocket's snorlax.

"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU DO BETTER TWERP! HOW DARE YOU INSULT OUR MOTTO!" Jessie yelled, throwing a fit in the process, "We'll show you! James! Meowth! Let's go!"

"Right!" her two comrades responded as they placed their hands on the various controls of the robot snorlax.

"Taste our Fia Punch ya twoips!" Meowth yelled as he smashed his paw onto a large red button. (1) As soon as Meowth pressed the button, the metallic snorlax's right paw rose up into the air and became surrounded in a powerful blaze and began it's decent, straight onto the wooden picnic table.

"MOVE!" Brock yelled as he pushed Dawn to the left and dived to the right afterward. Ash and Latias had transformed with lighting quick reactions, flying away with Misty and Kirla respectively, leaving only one thing...their sandwiches. A split second later, Team Rocket's robot's fist smashed into the table, causing an explosion of splinters and the smell of burning wood to rise up into the air.

"Annnnndddd We'll just take those," James said, as small metal tentacles appeared from the metal snorlax's fingers stole the three fallen sandwiches and transported them to the three villains in the control center above, "Many thanks."

"HEY! THOSE ARE OURS!" Dawn yelled from below after getting off of the ground, "Piplup! Whirlpool!" Piplup quickly formed an enormous powerful torrent of water above his head and at the peak of its power, sent it barreling towards the belly of Team Rocket's robot snorlax. It looked like a promising hit, but when the massive amount of water struck the metal of the snorlax, it bounced back and was sent hurling towards the sender.

"WATCH OUT!" Ash yelled as he dove and threw up a hasty protect in front of Dawn and Piplup, barely able to hold back Piplup's own whirlpool. Luckily, he had put down Misty just seconds before, allowing him to protect Piplup and Dawn.

"ahhahahhhahahha! Nothing can penetrate this armor! And anything sent at us will be returned ten fold!" James gloated as he made a face to Ash and his friends, "And now for the prize! First, deal with the twerps."

Upon his word, the belly of the giant snorlax opened up to reveal a large metal tube. Briefly, Ash and his friends wondered what function that giant tube could serve.

"Letttttaaaa rip!" Meowth said as he pressed a large blue button. Suddenly, a vicious current of air came from the tube, but instead of pushing away, it sucked in: a vacuum. Ash and his friends struggled to resist the air current, not wishing to get sucked in and captured.

"AHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAH! For once our plan is going perfectly!" Jessie cackled in a high pitched squeal, "Meowth give it more power! Once we're done here we'll go for the rest of the pokemon!"

"More powa coming up!" the team rocket cat answered, and soon enough, the robot was roaring away, uprooting trees and plants all around it, pulling it into the void of the robot's stomach. Unfortunately, living strength can only go so far against a mechanical menace. And after a couple moments, a scream pieced the air.

Latias watched helplessly as Kirlia slipped from her grasp and hurled towards the evil machine, and there was nothing that she could do to save her. She tried to grasp her with her psych, but Kirlia was moving to fast for her to get a mental hold on her. Kirlia knew that there was no chance for Ash and his friends to save her and resorted to the last thing she could do: scream and pray.

"RIOLU!"

* * *

Back at the house

Riolu snapped his eyes open and jumped out of bed, feeling as if someone important was in danger and needed his help. On the wind, he heard the soft cry of his name from Kirlia and looked out the window to see a massive metal snorlax and a certain special Kirlia hurtling towards it. His best friend was in danger!

"I'M COMING KIRLIA! JUST HANG ON!" Riolu yelled as he jumped out the window onto the soft grass of Ash's lawn, his mind bent on saving his best friend, Kirlia.

* * *

(1) Yes yes yes, I know snorlax's can't learn Fire Punch. But it's a machine. It can do whatever it wants.

Well it's finally summer! And yes I took a small week or two vacation away from FF. Writers got to rest too! But now I'm back and will be working on this story and my other one more often. BUT don't expect an update like every week or so!

Anyways, back to the story. Things are getting murkier and murkier! More secrets! More Danger! More Drama!

And sorry in advance for the cliffy! You'll just have to wait a bit for the next part!

Thank you for reading and please review!

-Mekon


	13. Ch12: Just Trust Me

**DISCLAIMER**

How about a good ole Oak poem to wrap this one up?

Pokemon...a fabulous idea not owned by me...

Sadly enough... it never ever will be!

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

"_ahhahahhhahahha! Nothing can penetrate this armor! And anything sent at us will be returned ten fold!" James gloated as he made a face to Ash and his friends, "And now for the prize! First, deal with the twerps." _

_Upon his word, the belly of the giant snorlax opened up to reveal a large metal tube. Briefly, Ash and his friends wondered what function that giant tube could serve. _

"_Letttttaaaa rip!" Meowth said as he pressed a large blue button. Suddenly, a vicious current of air came from the tube, but instead of pushing away, it sucked in: a vacuum. Ash and his friends struggled to resist the air current, not wishing to get sucked in and captured. _

"_AHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAH! For once our plan is going perfectly!" Jessie cackled in a high pitched squeal, "Meowth give it more power! Once we're done here we'll go for the rest of the pokemon!" _

"_More powa coming up!" the team rocket cat answered, and soon enough, the robot was roaring away, uprooting trees and plants all around it, pulling it into the void of the robot's stomach. Unfortunately, living strength can only go so far against a mechanical menace. And after a couple seconds, a scream pieced the air. _

_Latias watched helplessly as Kirlia slipped from her grasp and hurled towards the evil machine, and there was nothing that she could do to save her. She tried to grasp her with her psych, but Kirlia was moving to fast for her to get a mental hold on her. Kirlia knew that there was no chance for Ash and his friends to save her and resorted to the last thing she could do: scream and pray. _

"_RIOLU!" _

* * *

_Back at the house_

_Riolu snapped his eyes open and jumped out of bed, feeling as if someone important was in danger and needed his help. On the wind, he heard the soft cry of his name from Kirlia and looked out the window to see a massive metal snorlax and a certain special Kirlia hurtling towards it. His best friend was in danger!_

"_I'M COMING KIRLIA! JUST HANG ON!" Riolu yelled as he jumped out the window onto the soft grass of Ash's lawn, his mind bent on saving Kirlia. _

* * *

Ch12: Just Trust Me

Where had he been? What had he been doing? Those were the questions that Riolu asked himself as he ran with all speed towards the metal monstrosity up ahead. He watched with pain and frustration as Kirlia disappeared into the belly of the beast, her screams reverberating against the metal and echoing into the air, torture to his sensitive hearing.

Riolu cursed himself for being such a poor guardian and increased his speed, running faster than he had ever before in his life. As he came closer, he noticed that there were three people situated in the cockpit of the machine; people he assumed were the bad guys. Looking on further ahead, he noticed Ash and his friends struggling against a large current of wind which wished to pull them in and capture them all. He knew that was what had happened to Kirlia. Looking around, he made a mental note of the entire situation to determine what to do next.

The robot's back was up against a small alcove of tree's, and its vacuum was facing Ash and his friends who were all scattered across a small plain, holding on to sparse trees and bushes as anchors. Ash and Latias were caught in the vortex, unable to fly away due to its strength.

Thinking quickly he ran behind the snorlax and positioned himself to its side left, unseen still by the three occupied villains on top, who were still reveling in their immediate success. Riolu turned and faced a particularly tall tree and smiled... perfect. He hurried around the tree, until his direction was perfectly perpendicular to the path of the vacuum. Concentrating, he focused his power into his legs. Then with a powerful roar, he smashed his leg into the ground causing the earth to give way and fissure, uprooting the tree from the ground with a powerful Earthquake attack. Next, he spun around and with his speed and agility, smashed his right leg into the bark of the tree, sending it flying straight into the vortex of Team Rocket's snorlax.

He watched as it flew towards the metal tube and grimaced at what he was about to do. Putting on a burst of speed, Riolu rushed into the wind current and allowed it to carry him inside of the metal monster as the tree crunched behind him, sealing the door and exit. He was on his own now.

* * *

Outside with Ash and everyone else

The sound of rushing wind suddenly died away as our heroes were freed from the attractive force of Team Rocket's snorlax vacuum. They laid their eyes upon the metal tube that just seconds before was threatening to pull them into captivity and humiliation. It was completely blocked with the remains of a fallen tree, which was now a mass of splinters and tangled branches. Team Rocket's vacuum must have somehow pulled up an adjacent tree, blocking its tube and saving Ash and his friends. That's what the gang thought. They had no idea that Riolu had just saved them all or that Riolu was inside right now trying to save Kirlia.

"Meowth! What's going on! I don't see pokemon or twerps flying towards us!" James said, noticing that their opponents were now free.

"How should I know? Somfin's blocking da tube I tink'" Meowth answered, trying to remove the plug by turning up the vacuum's power. It didn't work at all. But it gave time for Ash and everyone else to recover from Team Rocket's attack.

"You give Kirlia back now!" Misty yelled at them from the ground.

"Oooooo girlfriend number one is getting angry James," Jessie said in a high pitched mocking voice, causing Misty to see red.

"I guess we'll just have to...cool her off now won't we Jessie?" James said happily, "Since our last attack turned up the heat! We'll do you twerps a favor and cool you down!" And the mechanical snorlax attacked with the other first, becoming frigid and completely covered in hazardous ice, and finally colliding with the ground, creating an icy crater and scattering Misty, Dawn, Brock and their pokemon in the process. Team Rocket repeated this process over and over again, causing the pokemon trainers below to run every which way. Ash and Latias were doing their best to break through the steel, but nothing they did could breach the thick metal armor. (2)

"That's it! I've had enough! Quilava! Use Eruption to melt through that snorlax's armor!" Dawn yelled as she summoned her faithful volcano pokemon. Quilava flared up the fire on its back and was about to let loose a fiery inferno but was stopped.

'WAIT!' Latias cried out as she blocked Quilava's line of fire, 'You can't! Kirlia's in there! She could get hurt!' And Quilava backed off, understanding the complications.

"Then...what do we do!" Brock asked as he dodged another Team Rocket snorlax attack, "We can't attack with regular attacks! They'll just bounce back! And we have got to get Kirlia back!" They were not about to just give up.

"Well if we can't destroy it! Then we have to slow it down! They are bound to go for the other pokemon!" Misty said, summoning all of her water pokemon. They nodded in approval. While they were holding Team Rocket at bay, they could come up with a plan to save Kirlia. But it wasn't looking too good at the moment, and all they could hope for was a miracle.

* * *

Diiiizzzzzyyyyyyy. That was the word that Riolu would have used if someone had asked him how he felt when riding the vacuum into the snorlax. It was a short and completely horrible trip, ending with an abrupt thud as Riolu smashed onto the floor with his side. He groaned as he slowly recovered from the brutal hit, hoisting himself up on his feet. It was utterly pitch black, and Riolu waved his paws around wildly in order to determine if anything was immediately next to him. His feet, sliding over the cold metal floor, slowly moved forward into the darkness. Kirlia had to be in here somewhere.

"Kirlia?" Riolu called out to the shadows, hoping for some sort of answer to his calls. He didn't get any, but he turned sharply as his tuned ears picked up the sound of someone's breathing hitch and stall. "Kirlia are you there! It's Riolu!" Now this time a rapid shuffling of feet echoed through the chamber, alerting Riolu to, where he hoped, Kirlia's location. He turned once more, but stopped as one of his swinging paws smashed into something very hard. Briefly he grimaced with pain, gritting his teeth. But soon the pain ebbed away, leaving nothing to remind him of it. Cautiously, he raised his paws to the obstacle and grasped them, feeling the heat escape from his paws as he encircled the obstruction: a large metal bar of a cage. He didn't think about it long, however, and moved towards his main goal.

"Kirlia! If you can hear me! I need you to make a sound so I can find you!" Riolu rang out, his eyes still not adjusted to the minimal amount of light in the cage. He waited, but nothing came. Why was Kirlia not answering? It was starting to make him worried. "Kirlia? Are you okay!" And after a short time, a small voice issued from the void.

"Who...who's there?" a small feminine voice asked, fear and desperation accompanying her tone. "Please...don't hurt me!" Riolu stopped, not understanding why Kirlia, who was obviously the owner of that voice, would ask who he was or beg for him not to hurt her. He would never hurt her!

"It's me! It's Riolu!" Riolu recanted desperately wishing to find Kirlia now, scared for her well-being. His reassurances did not seem to help at all, however.

"No...Riolu's not here...he's asleep! And it's my fault!" Kirlia cried out, "Stop! It's all my fault...Please...just don't come closer..." Riolu began to scurry faster now, knowing that something was extremely wrong. He would not rest until he made sure that Kirlia was well. Suddenly, he fell back as a sharp fist collided with his face, knocking him back and sending a jolt through his weary body. He shook his head, not angry, but actually happy. He recognized that attack: Kirlia's Thunderbolt. He was the one who had taught her how to channel it into a punch in the first place. (1)

"Don't come any closer!" Kirlia screamed, delusional and confused as she scooted madly against the cold corner of her cage, her back hitting the frigid unforgiving bars of her confinement. There was no where to go. Riolu hopped to his feet and rushed forward, knowing exactly where she was now. Kirlia began to panic and prepared to attack again, but couldn't as she felt her arm get swiped away to the side uselessly. She was about to scream, but stopped as a small paw covered her mouth, telling her...that Riolu really was there.

"See. I told you. It's me," Riolu murmured, as he held down one of Kirlia's arms. Slowly but surely, Riolu's face materialized from the darkness for Kirlia to see, and gently, he lowered his paw, while releasing Kirlia.

"Riolu?" Kirlia breathed out, unable to believe who she saw in front of her right now. After a week's time, it was hard to believe.

"Well who else do you think it is?" Riolu asked with a small smile, but stopped as Kirlia rushed forward and buried herself into his neck, fresh tears leaking from her crimson eyes. All of the week's worth of worry and fear and sadness burst, threatening to overwhelm her and the poor fighting type in front of her.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" Kirlia yelled out into his shoulder, more tears flowing from her face "Do you have any idea how worried I was! I thought...I thought that...that I had lost you...I thought that I...I would never be able to really see you ever again..." She wrapped her arms around him, holding on to him like a lifeline. Every second and every moment seemed to be more surreal than the next to the completely flabbergasted Riolu.

"Wha...what are you talking about Kirlia?" Riolu stammered while trying to calm down his best friend. "Uhhhh...I guess...uhhh...I'm sorry?...for whatever I did." But Kirlia continued to cry, leaving Riolu to console her and comfort her the entire time until her cries were reduced to sniffles and hiccups.

"Don't …..don't leave me again," Kirlia begged as her words were punctuated here and there by passing hiccups.

"I'm right here. Shhhhhh.," Riolu said as he hugged her tighter for emphasis, "I'll always be right here for you." And they sat there, embracing and within eachother's arms in the dark of Team Rocket's machine on the cold metal of their cage.

"Now tell me. What happened?" Riolu asked, after allowing Kirlia to compose herself, "What did you mean you thought you would never see me again? What was I doing in that bed?" Kirlia took some very deep breaths, calming herself down and preparing to tell Riolu what he had missed over the last week.

"You've...been asleep...for the last week, ever since you were hit by the orb. You could have died...but Ash and his friends were able to bring you to Nurse Joy. But even with her help...you became trapped in a coma," Kirlia choked out, half happy that Riolu was alright and half in pain from recalling the past week's events, "Every day...I came to visit you to see if you would wake up, once in the morning and once before I went to sleep. But you never did..." And after saying this, a fresh spring of tears sprung from Kirlia's eyes, her mind showing her those terrible days and nights. Riolu was shocked. He had no idea that he had been gone for a week already, and he felt even worse as he smelled Kirlia's salty tears.

"Hey," Riolu whispered as he slowly wiped away Kirlia's tears with his paws, "Don't cry Kirlia please. You know I hate it when you do."

"JERK! I was worried! Of course I'm crying!" Kirlia screeched hysterically. Riolu sweatdropped and gave out a long sigh. But he smiled, glad that she was so worried about him.

"You know what I mean," he murmured with a small chuckle. He reached up and slowly wiped away some of Kirlia's tears. As he did this, the psychic type went deathly silent, and her face showed just the slightest bit of red as she felt Riolu's paws slowly clean away her tears. Only now did she realize that she was all alone, in the dark, and in the arms of her secret love interest. She hopped back as her face burned crimson. Slowly, Kirlia replayed the entire scene in her head, and it only made things worse for her growing embarrassment.

"Uhh Kirlia? Are you okay?" Riolu asked stepping forward slowly.

"Fine!" Kirlia squeaked out, attempting to hide her brilliant blush.

"Uhh okay..." Riolu said a but confused to her sudden change of attitude, "Anyways! We got to get out of here! There has to be some way out of this cage." Kirlia nodded, remembering that they were currently captured and had to find a way to return to their friends.

"Here I'll light up the cage a bit," Kirlia said as she closed her eyes, "Will-O-Wisp!" Suddenly, eight large balls of blue fire appeared and began to circle Kirlia, effectively lighting up the room. Now they could see.

As the light spread around, only now did they understand how trapped they really were. First off they were in a large steel cage locked with at least five different locks. Then, outside of the cage there was what looked like a force field generator to ensure confinement. Team Rocket had really pulled out all the stops on this on.

"Holy son of Rayquaza!" Riolu exclaimed as he laid his eyes on all the security measures that had been put up to hold the captives.

"Wow... whoever put up all of these security measures must have failed an awful lot," Kirlia said absentmindedly.

"WE HEARD DAT!" a cat-like voice boomed throughout the prison, causing Kirlia and Riolu to turn towards the voice.

"LET US OUT!" Riolu demanded, shouted towards the camera and megaphone.

"Ahh shut it doggy boy! You twos ain't goin nowhere! Hey! But look on da bright side! Ya got ya girlfriend alllll to yaself so go nuts," the cat-like voice responded ending his speech with an evil laugh that reverberated throughout the metal confines. Upon the word 'girlfriend', Riolu and Kirlia had both flushed a deep crimson, both looking away from the other in profound embarrassment. But they shook it off as they turned their thoughts towards trying to find a way to escape.

"What do we do? These bars are way to hard to melt through or break through," Kirlia said as she observed one of the heavy metal bars.

"Well let's see. You know Thunderbolt, Magical Leaf, Will-O-Whips and Psychic. I know Earthquake, Blaze Kick, Brick-Break, and Shadow Claw. How do we use that to break through the first cage and finally the force field?" Riolu asked as he sat down on the hard metal and thought, "Oh hey! Do you still know Teleport?"

"Ugh...ever since you've been training me to resist dark-types, I haven't been practicing it. Using it now could result in...uhh...leaving a part behind, " Kirlia groaned out, slumping to the floor, out of ideas, causing Riolu to sweatdrop. There had to be a way out of here. Suddenly, Riolu clapped his paws together, a brainwave hitting him.

"Kirlia! Do you still remember how to use Light Screen still?" Riolu asked, urgency in his voice. His plan depended on her knowing how to use that attack still.

"Uhhh yes. It's a pretty easy psychic move," Kirlia responded not knowing where Riolu was going with this.

"Good. Okay here's the idea. So, we can't blast apart this entire cage and the locks are way too hard to actually destroy or crack. But! We only need to break a small part of it to get out. Together, we might be able to just melt through enough of one or two of these bars, which should be enough to let us break out!" Riolu said facing one of the large steel reinforced bars.

"But we don't have enough fire with just my Will-O-Wisp and your Blaze Kick," Kirlia answered back dejectedly.

"I know. Which is why you'll be adding Thunderbolt to it," Riolu answered crossing his arms. Kirlia took a couple of seconds to connect two and two. Once she had figured it out, she immediately protested.

"NO! I'm not doing it! There has to be another way!" Kirlia screamed understanding why Riolu had asked her if she knew how to use Light Screen still. He was planning on her protecting herself with it while infusing the METAL cage with electricity, heating up the bar even further and melting through it. But Riolu wouldn't be protected by the coursing volts, putting him in harms way.

"There's no time to argue about it Kirlia! What matters now is that we get out of here safe and sound! A few injuries to myself doesn't bother me! I just don't want you to get hurt!" Riolu yelled back, taking charge of the situation.

"I...I still don't..."Kirlia began but stopped as Riolu lifted up her face from underneath her chin to look directly into his eyes.

"Trust me Kirlia. I'll be okay," Riolu said, his eyes hard and determined.

"I...I just don't want to hurt you..." Kirlia whispered back fearfully, thinking about Riolu's coma.

"Just trust me," Riolu repeated softly with a small smile.

"I do..." Kirlia breathed back, still wishing that their could have been another solution.

"Good. Let's do this then," Riolu said, "Use Light Screen on yourself now." Kirlia nodded as she formed a psychic barrier of light around her, protecting her from special attacks and more specifically her soon to be created Thunderbolt. Then she directed her Will-O-Wisp towards one of the prison bars and began to circle the balls of fire around it, heating it up till the metal glowed red.

"Now Kirlia!" Riolu yelled over the blaze. Kirlia closed her eyes as she pumped hundreds and hundreds of volts into the small steel bar, but unfortunately her hearing was not able to block out the painful grunts of her best friend who was being shocked by her attacks. She was about to let up, but was stopped by Riolu's command.

"Don't! Stop! Just...a...bit...more!" Riolu grunted out as his body took in some of the electricity jumping around in the cage. Now the bar was glowing bright white, showing that it was nearing its limit of heat capacity. He watched as dregs of metal bar began to feel the pull of gravity and fall towards the ground, thinning out the prison bar.

"Now!" Riolu yelled as he surged across the electric floor and gave a might roar as his Blaze Kick smashed into the weakened metal bar. A loud crack echoed throughout the cell as Riolu smashed through the hot metal and crashed into the next cage. He laid there, excess electricity sparking around his body painfully. Kirlia quickly ceased her attack and squeezed through the bar, making sure to avoid the sill very hot metal. She quickly examined her best friend. His right foot was badly burnt and his body was still holding in excess electricity that caused small arcs of electricity around him. Quickly, Kirlia absorbed the excess power from her Thunderbolt, eliciting a groan from Riolu.

"I knew that we shouldn't have done that," Kirlia murmured murderously as she helped Riolu up, "You always have to put yourself in danger don't you!"

"Well it worked," Riolu said with a cheeky smile that disappeared quickly as the pain from his burnt foot registered with his brain, "Looking back...kicking a super hot metal bar was probably not the brightest idea." He was lucky his Blaze Kick had actually acted as a sort of shield, protecting most of his foot.

"Ya think?" Kirlia scolded as she supported Riolu's, "And we still gotta get past the force field."

"Just walk straight through it with Light Screen and break the generator, that should work..."Riolu groaned out as his charred and bruised foot began to throb painfully. Kirlia nodded and slowly put him down before doing exactly what he said. It had actually been really quite easy passing through the force field, and even easier disabling the barrier; a giant off switch was most likely the cause. Slowly, the giant field of energy dissipated, giving access to every area of the giant robot.

"Perfect!" Riolu exclaimed, glad that his plan had worked, "Now let's get back to the others!"

* * *

Meanwhile outside of the robot

"Hahaha! There's nothing you twerps can do! This machine's indestructible!" James said as he fired off another volley of fire and ice punches. It was like a Persian playing with a Rattata before eating it.

"Ahhhhh it feels good to win again!" Jessie cackled as the gigantic robot continued to pound away at Ash and his friends without letup or delay.

"What do we do!" Dawn yelled as she jumped to the left to avoid an incoming fiery metal fist. They were in a really bad situation now. Team rocket's attacks just keep coming and coming, and the space to run continued to get smaller and smaller. They had done their best to slow down Team Rocket. But nothing had worked, and their pokemon were all worn out after defending their trainers faithfully. They were completely defenseless. Really now, only Ash and Latias could do anything to stop Team Rocket.

Suddenly, the monstrous metal barrage and the snorlax stopped as a booming powerful voice resonated over the battlefield.

"WHAT ARE YOU THREE IMBECILES DOING!" a very irate, impatient voice yelled, causing the three villains to go completely rigid.

"Bu...bu..boss!" Meowth stammered, "We was uh...well ya see...Bringing ya some pokemon?"

"I DON'T CARE MUCH FOR YOUR PETTY SCEMES! YOU WERE TOLD TO RETURN TO BASE FOR A NEW MISSION! SO GET OVER HERE OR ELSE YOU WILL REGRET IT!" Giovanni roared through a video camera situated in the cockpit.

"YESSIR!" all three of them answered back immediately, now sweating profusely. Huffing, Giovanni closed the connection, allowing them to relax again.

"Sorry then twerps! Looks like it's time to rocket out of here!" Jessie said to them as she pressed a button, "To do loo! Thanks very much for the Kirlia and Riolu! They'll make great additions to our team!" Ash and his friends looked at each other, their eyes wide. It couldn't be...Riolu was awake! As soon as Jessie pressed that button, rockets and stabilizer fins appeared on the snorlax.

"Initiating launch in five...four...three...two...one!" James said and as soon as he counted one, the rocket's ignited, knocking Ash and his friends back and getting the giant snorlax airborne.

'Kirlia! Riolu!' Latias yelled as she watched the rocket lift off of the ground and into the air, 'We can't let them escape Ash!' Ash nodded.

'Don't worry guys we'll come back with both of them,' Ash told the dazed humans on the grass, 'Let's go Latias!' And they shot off like a bullet, aiming towards the flying snorlax and towards getting their friends back.

* * *

Back inside of the belly of the snorlax

Things were getting pretty crazy inside of the snorlax. It was rocking back and forth randomly and rapidly; a killer wind could be heard whipping around outside threatening to tear apart the failing structure of the engine room.

"We have to get out of here now!" Riolu yelled as he painfully stood up on both feet, "If we don't escape now, we'll never make it out!" Kirlia nodded as she supported Riolu on his weak side..

"I think I got an idea!" Kirlia yelled excitedly as she stopped in front of a large chart, "The only other exit, according to this map, is on the top of the snorlax. First, we have to destroy the engines!" Riolu looked at her as if she was crazy. They would crash if they did that. "If we have to jump, I'd rather be closer to the ground thank you very much." Riolu blinked rapidly for a minute but then nodded in agreement.

"Let's do it then!" Riolu yelled. They rushed to the engines that were sustaining their flight at the moment. Riolu gave a loud yell as he jumped up and smashed the engine with a powerful Brick-break attack, causing bolts and nuts to fly all over the place. Then Kirlia engulfed it in a fiery blaze with her Will-O-Wisp, sealing its doom. They heard a loud alarm go off, signaling the ship's failure and their success.

"Let's go!" Kirlia said as she pulled Riolu towards the stairs, up to the operator cockpit. They needed to get out now!

* * *

Kirlia and Riolu crept up the stairs and came upon three chairs with two panicking humans and one panicking pokemon who were rapidly pressing random buttons on the dashboard, attempting to fix the snorlax.

"AHHHHH WHAT'S GOING ON MEOWTH! THIS THING ISN'T FLYING!" James yelled as he shook the small cat fiercely.

"AHHHHH I DIDN'T DO ITTTTTT! SOMETHING'S WRONG WIT THE ENGINE!" Meowth screeched, just as freaked out as James was.

"WELL CHECK THE CAMERAS!" Jessie yelled frantically.

"Alright alright!" Meowth said as he pressed another button, which pulled up a screen. It showed what looked like a melted cage, a disabled force field and a conflagration engulfing the main engine.

"AHHHH! They got out!" Meowth screeched, "And they destroyed the engine! Dat Riolu and Kirlia!"

"Those little!" Jessie screamed, "I can't believe that those two little Pokemon were able to break through all of that and destroy the engine!"

"At least they will make use look good for presenting them to the boss," James said happily, until he was bonked on the head.

"You idiot! We can't present them to the boss if we don't have them captured!" Jessie screeched as she throttled James for being so dimwitted, causing James to scream like a little girl.

"It don't matta anyways! We just gotta get back to base to learn about tha orb thing da boss was talkin' bout last week!" Meowth said smartly, "It's a good thing I put an escape pod in one of da ears of this machine! In case of these kind'a emergencies!"

Kirlia and Riolu looked at each other with wide eyes. Team Rocket had an orb! And also they could escape in the escape pod! They just needed to get there!

"Alight! I've set the snorlax ta detonate in da air in ten seconds! Let's get moving! I'd rather not lose another one of my nine lives!" Meowth said as he hopped off of the chair, "That Kirlia and Riolu are on their own." But it was not to be.

"Kirlia now!" Riolu yelled and, suddenly, all three of the Team Rocket members were surrounded in a strange blue light, frozen in place and suspended in the air.

"Hey! What gives?" Meowth said as he floated in the air, flailing around uselessly.

"What's going on!" James yelled as he tried to land his feet on the floor. Then, they watched as a small blue pokemon and a small green pokemon poked their heads from around the corner of the room.

"Hey! You two are supposed to be in the cage so we can give you to the boss!" Jessie yelled as she splashed around uselessly like a magicarp.

"Hope you guys won't mind if we use your escape pod. Please and thank you!" Kirlia said as she continued to restrain them in her psychic attack, causing the three crooks to squirm even more.

"Hey! That's our escape pod!" James said as he watched Riolu and Kirlia open the escape door hatch. "We're the ones who are supposed to be taking things!"

"Ha you twos won't know how to operate the escape pod anyway! So you'll need us to pilot it!" Meowth said triumphantly. Riolu frowned, taking Team Rocket with them was not an appealing idea.

"Oh they could just press the main override, switch and then press the green button on the dash to tell the auto-pilot to land immediately!" James blabbed, unable to control himself. Jessie and Meowth promptly whacked and scratched his face respectively.

"Alright thanks!" Riolu said with a wave as they walked across to the pod and entered, cutting off Team Rocket's psychic restraints. The door shut tight on the escape pod, leaving them no where to run.

"Waiiittt you can't just leave us like this!" Jessie cried out as they began to bang on the metal door, plastering their faces on the window.

"Bye!" Kirlia said with a sweet smile and a wave as she pressed the green go button and blasted out of the ship safely. Team Rocket slumped to the floor with a groan. They prepared for the painful process of crash landing into the ground at terminal velocity. All in a days work for Team Rocket...

* * *

Meanwhile outside of the now falling snorlax

Latias and Ash watched with horror as the behemoth machine's engines failed and stopped in mid-flight. They sped close to the machine trying to find someway of getting in and saving their friends. But their dismay, no entrance could be found as they rapidly circled the metal monster.

Then, out of nowhere, a sharp firing sound boomed through the air as Ash and Latias turned to see one of the snorlax's ears detach and fly off. And in the window of the flying metal snorlax ear was Kirlia!

"Quick over there Latias!" Ash said as they sped towards the descending metal.

Inside of the escape pod, a sudden warning bell went off, complete with a flashing red light. Riolu went up to the controls and rolled his eyes.

"Of course...no gas...just great," Riolu said while turning towards Kirlia, "We have to jump Kirlia!"

"What! I mean I know I said we might have to earlier! But I didn't plan on actually doing it!" Kirlia screamed as she looked outside of the window. It was an awful long way to jump.

"We have to! It's the only choice we got!" Riolu yelled as he kicked out the airlock, creating an instant vacuum of air that threatened to throw them out of the small pod anyway. He really hoped that they would land in a lake or something. Falling into water from this height wouldn't be fatal, but it would be extremely...extremely painful. "One...two...three!" And they jumped. Down and down they fell with Kirlia screaming the entire way and Riolu trying to keep his eyes open in the rushing wind. His heart stopped as no blue greeted his eyes. Looks like it was all over...

Then suddenly they landed on something soft and feathery. It was a miracle! They looked around trying to figure out where they were and how they got there.

"Geez. Do you two always get into this much trouble?" Ash asked over his shoulder, as the escape pod smashed into the unforgiving Earth. They were alright! Latias flew up next to Ash and smiled happily, glad that they were both safe and relatively unhurt.

"You two okay?" Latias asked over the rushing wind. She noticed Riolu's charred foot and winced at the thought of such injury.

"We're fine...got a pretty bad burn and a bruise. But we're okay," Riolu said comfortably from his place on Ash's back.

"What happened to Team Rocket?" Ash asked, not recalling seeing a second escape pod. Riolu motioned towards the crashing snorlax and within seconds it exploded as it finally finished it descent. Given Team Rocket's track record, however, Ash was sure that they had found a way to survive.

"Lets get back quick!" Ash said as he turned around.

"Right," Latias answered as they both sped back towards their friends. It wasn't over yet. They still owed a blasting off to Team Rocket, and Ash would make sure that they got it!

* * *

Ash and Latias returned to their friends just moments after Team Rocket's snorlax crashed into the earth. It was just a pile of crunched metal and sparking wires now. The two eon dragons landed, allowing Riolu and Kirlia to dismount and for Ash and Latias to transform into their human forms.

"Do...do you think they made it?" Brock asked. He didn't like Team Rocket, but he didn't like the idea of them dying right there, more. A few moment's passed, and no movement could be seen from the pile of scrap metal.

"I guess...that..." Misty whispered. She was stopped, though, by the sound of scraping metal. Then suddenly out of nowhere, four figures rose out of the rubble: James, Jessie, Meowth and Wobbuffet!

"WHAAT! BUT HOW?" all the them yelled, falling over in disbelief.

"Wobbuffet learned Safeguard that's how," Meowth said crossing him arms coolly, "Acted as a shield that saved us from being squished."

"Now you twerps will pay!" Jessie declared, "Seviper go! Night Slash! "

"Carnivine! Bullet Seed!" James yelled, but it was turned into a screech as the grass-type turned around and bit his head affectionately, "Ahhhhh! Attack them not me!" The two Team Rocket pokemon surged forward letting lose their attacks. Ash and his friends didn't have time to react and closed their eyes as they neared. But then they heard a screech and explosion, and they opened their eyes.

Carnivine was running around, his head no fire, and Seviper was thrown far away from them in a tangled mess. Riolu had fended off Carnivine with his Blaze Kick while Kirlia had blasted Seviper with Psychic!

"Let us take this battle Ash," Riolu said getting into battle position, "We owe it to them." Ash nodded stepping forward to command and direct their efforts. Riolu quickly informed him of both of their useable attacks via Aura, and Ash was all set.

"Alright then! If it's a battle you want Team Rocket, it's a battle you'll get. Kirlia! Let's go Will-O-Wisp at Carnivine! Riolu Shadow Claw at Seviper!" Ash said, feeling that rush of battling come to him again. Kirlia launched her fiery blue fireballs at Carnivine completely roasting it to a crisp along with Team Rocket. It looked like it was going to be a very short battle.

"Don't just stand there Seviper! Let's go Poison Tail!" Jessie screamed, her face completely charred. Her snake-like pokemon surged forward coming upon Kirlia menacingly and prepared to strike. But he was thrown away as Riolu's Shadow Claw connected, causing Seviper to hurtle into Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet.

"Oh no...here it comes!" Meowth said, knowing what was coming before it did.

"Pikachu! Thunderbolt! Kirlia! Psychic! Riolu Earthquake!" Ash said throwing his hand in an epic order stance. Pikachu hopped up from behind Ash into the skies shocking Team Rocket as custom. Kirlia's eyes turned blue as she sent a psychic blast simultaneously with Riolu's earthquake, creating an enormous explosion, effectively launching Team Rocket to their long past-due launch.

"I knew I should have gotten life-insuranceee!" Meowth said as he flew through the air.

"Yes. But you should have known that your offer to the companies would be quite...shaky," James said with a very bad pun and a wide grin.

"I'll show you shaky!" Meowth said as he flailed madly in the air in an effort to re-introduce James to his claws.

"Ohhh look we're on our way to Viridian already! We'll make it in record time," Jessie said as she noted their trajectory, "You two better get your act together! We'll be at HQ in any second!" They sighed.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they all said, "Wobbuffet!"

Ash and his friends smiled as they watched the four dissappear into the sky with a twinkle. It was finally over.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Team Rocket base

"Rockets!" a loud important voice boomed over a very large crowd of people, all dressed similarly with blazing red 'R's decorating their backs and waring a constant uniform. Only a few distinguished ones were wearing anything different. "Today is a very important day. It is the day..." Suddenly, the man was interrupted by what sounded like three very loud screams, a sudden crash and tinkling of glass.

"H...hello...boss," a shaking broken hand said from a very deep deep crater. The hand belonged to none other than Jessie.

"Ugh...imbeciles...at least you got here on time..." Giovanni said while muttering the last part, "As I was saying! Today is the beginning of a new era! The era of Team Rocket's domination over all man and pokemon!" His speech received a loud applause from the gathered Team Rocket members. "Yes! We have successfully done it! We have created a new power that will empower our own pokemon to become far more destructive and mighty than any in the world! And with this power! None! None shall stand in our way!" And a roaring response to his declaration rose in the crowd. "Now! I shall unveil the very invention that will help us do this! Behold!" And the curtain was dropped, revealing an enormous complex machine; at the heart stood, what looked like, a small little brown orb. "Once we have all powered up our pokemon, we will begin our march towards world domination! We will be invincible from this day on!" No one could stop them... because no one knew about his plans or the orb...well that's what he thought.

* * *

(1) I'll go more into detail about that later. Just know that Riolu's been training Kirlia like a fighting-type. You'll see the results of that later.

(2) Mijumaruwott wanted an ice punch so I put one in :P

OH! And Rubius has kindly made me some fan art! :D -+-+-+- laidler123. deviantart. com/#/d3jdti2 -+-+-+-

Thanks so much! I'm flattered!

And back to the story! Sooooooo Riolu to the rescue! Kirlia's all safe and sound. Plus, some hilarious dialouge between our two favorite new pokemon. And it looks like Team Rocket's on the move! Can Riolu and Kirlia help Ash and everyone else to understand? Until next time!

Thank you for reading and please review!

-Mekon


	14. Ch13: Promises and Secrets

**DISCLAIMER**

My ownership of pokemon is equivalent to the level of smartness using a Mew and using the move Transform when you're fighting a level five Magicarp.

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

"_Alright then! If it's a battle you want Team Rocket, it's a battle you'll get. Kirlia! Let's go Will-O-Wisp at Carnivine! Riolu Shadow Claw at Seviper!" Ash said, feeling that rush of battling come to him again. Kirlia launched her fiery blue fireballs at Carnivine completely roasting it to a crisp along with Team Rocket. _

"_Don't just stand there Seviper! Let's go Poison Tail!" Jessie screamed, her face completely charred. Her snake-like pokemon surged forward coming upon Kirlia menacingly and prepared to strike. But he was thrown away as Riolu's Shadow Claw connected, causing Seviper to hurtle into Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet. _

"_Oh no...here it comes!" Meowth said, knowing what was coming before it did. _

"_Pikachu! Thunderbolt! Kirlia! Psychic! Riolu Earthquake!" Ash said throwing his hand in an epic order stance. Pikachu hopped up from behind Ash into the skies shocking Team Rocket as custom. Kirlia's eyes turned blue as she sent a psychic blast simultaneously with Riolu's earthquake, creating an enormous explosion, effectively launching Team Rocket to their long past-due launch. _

"_I knew I should have gotten life-insuranceee!" Meowth said as he flew through the air. _

"_Yes. But you should have known that your offer to the companies would be quite...shaky," James said with a very bad pun and a wide grin._

"_I'll show you shaky!" Meowth said as he flailed madly in the air in an effort to re-introduce James to his claws. _

"_Ohhh look we're on our way to Viridian already! We'll make it in record time," Jessie said as she noted their trajectory, "You two better get your act together! We'll be at HQ in any second!" They nodded. _

"_Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they all said, "Wobbuffet!" _

_It was finally over._

* * *

_Meanwhile at the Team Rocket base_

"_Rockets!" a loud important voice boomed over a very large crowd of people, all dressed similarly with blazing red 'R's decorating their backs and waring a constant uniform. Only a few distinguished ones were wearing anything different. "Today is a very important day. It is the day..." Suddenly, the man was interrupted by what sounded like three very loud screams, a sudden crash and tinkling of glass. _

"_H...hello...boss," a shaking broken hand said from a very deep deep crater. The hand belonged to none other than Jessie. _

"_Ugh...imbeciles...at least you got here on time..." Giovanni said while muttering the last part, "As I was saying! Today is the beginning of a new era! The era of Team Rocket's domination over all man and pokemon!" His speech received a loud applause from the gathered Team Rocket members. "Yes! We have successfully done it! We have created a new power that will empower our own pokemon to become far more destructive and mighty than any in the world! And with this power! None! None shall stand in our way!" And a roaring response to his declaration rose in the crowd. "Now! I shall unveil the very invention that will help us do this! Behold!" And the curtain was dropped, revealing an enormous complex machine; at the heart stood, what looked like, a small little brown orb. "Once we have all powered up our pokemon, we will begin our march towards world domination!" No one could stop them because no one knew about it...well that's what he thought._

* * *

Ch13: Promises and Secrets

Peace and quiet. Something that Ash was actually wishing for at this moment while he sat on his living room couch, completely exhausted and bone tired. He held his throbbing head-ache gingerly with his left hand while propping his right elbow on the armrest to lean on.

"Are you alright Ash?" Latias asked sweetly as she took a seat next to the young man, "You don't look too good." Ash sighed tiredly as he placed his head into both of his hands, covering his face.

"Just tired I guess..." Ash murmured, and suddenly, his stomach gave an enormous growl much to Ash's embarrassment, "...And a bit hungry." Ash's mother had gone out to go check up on one of her friends in the neighborhood and wouldn't be back for a while. Brock and Misty had gone to go visit their families for a few days to catch up, dropped off by Charizard earlier that evening. Dawn was out training her contest moves near the lab with all of her pokemon, and by the looks of things, she would be there for a couple more hours. Pikachu was out playing with Ash's other pokemon, taking Riolu and Kirlia along with him also to get them more familiar with everyone else. So, it was just Ash and Latias, all alone now, with the entire house to themselves.

"Okay then. Just wait here. I'll make you something to eat," Latias answered with a smile as she gracefully moved to the kitchen to prepare a meal for Ash. She worked swiftly and skillfully, humming a happy tune that resonated around the room. For some reason, Ash found his head-ache slowly recede to a small insignificant throb as Latias' heavenly voice drifted around the room. And soon, a delicious aroma from Latias' freshly made food began to waft around the living room, causing Ash's mouth to water in anticipation.

"That smells really good Latias," Ash said as he continued to revel in the wonderful smell.

"Thanks Ash," Latias answered, a small happy blush appearing on her face. A couple of minutes later, after Latias had finished adding the various spices and ingredients, the food was ready to eat. She sampled some of it herself and was satisfied with how it had turned out. Placing the rest on a plate, she brought it over to Ash, still steaming hot.

"Here. Eat up," Latias said with a grin, handing over the food-filled plate to the resting boy. Ash took a second to just look at the food. It looked superbly crafted and extremely delicious. He finally took a bite, and he could have sworn that he had died and gone to heaven. It was, dare he say it, the most delicious thing he had ever eaten. Latias giggled cutely as she watched Ash's facial expression change and light up.

"You go ahead and finish Ash," Latias said as she walked around the back of the couch, giving Ash a little peck on the cheek on the way, "I need to go clean up the kitchen." Ash blinked rapidly, just registering what happened. And as soon as he did, a fierce red hot blush erupted on his face. He quickly buried himself into Latias' food to hide it and in the process failed to notice a blush of almost same intensity on Latias' face. Soon, Ash had finished his food, completely satisfied, and sat on the couch, not really sure of what to do now.

"Ummm do you want to watch a movie?" Latias asked timidly, breaking the tension in the air.

"Uhh sure," Ash said, glad that Latias had suggested doing something.

"You want to pick the movie Ash?" Latias asked over her shoulder as she finished putting back the utensils and tools that she had used to cook Ash's meal just moments before.

"Nah you can," Ash responded while he turned on the T.V. Latias moved over to the movie rack, perused through it, and selected one, popping it into the machine. She dimmed the lights and went to go grab a blanket. But she came back with only one.

"Umm...Ash..I could only find one blanket...I think your mom's washing the rest of them," Latias said, a light blush adorning her face, covered by the darkness. Now Latias faced two choices: one, just give the blanket to Ash...or two, offer to share the blanket with Ash, which was really the more desirable solution for her. Strangely, she didn't have to pick, because Ash picked for her.

"That's okay. We can share the blanket," Ash said with a warm smile while patting the seat next to him. The movie was about to begin. Gingerly, Latias took her seat next to Ash, a bit scared and nervous about such close proximity with her secret love. But as the movie went on, Latias couldn't help but slowly snuggle up closer to Ash with every moment until she had somehow ended up right next to Ash, tucked firmly underneath his left arm, her head leaning onto his chest.

Ash really didn't realize what he was doing, but soon he heard the soft breath of Latias sleeping in his ear. He smiled as he turned to face the girl eon dragon who was snuggled underneath his left arm. It was strange. This was the closest that he had ever gotten to a girl, yet he didn't feel strange or uncomfortable at all. He took his mind off of the movie for a while to just look at the girl sleeping on his chest. She really was very beautiful, but that was not what Ash only thought about her. He thought about how much she seemed to care about him and help him, how they protected each other and how they always seemed to get along perfectly. And soon enough, his mind wandered from what he thought about her to what he felt about her...He didn't know why every time she looked at him, his heart seemed to beat just a bit faster. He didn't know why that every time she said his name, he felt a small flutter in his chest. He didn't know why every time she smiled at him he looked away while his face flushed. He just didn't know.

He didn't have much time for thinking about it right now though. Ash could feel his own eyes slowly droop too as the movie neared the ending. In his last moments of consciousness, he leaned over and planted a small kiss on Latias' cheek, wishing her sweet dreams and falling asleep. And before falling asleep, one last thought crossed his mind.

"_I'm feeling much better now..." _Ash thought. But he was pretty sure that it wasn't the food that had done it.

* * *

Mrs. Ketchum glanced at the clock hanging on her friend's wall and gasped once she realized how late it really was. It was just half-past ten.

"Oh I'm so sorry dear! I need to get back home now. Ash is probably dying over there of hunger. You know how he is," Delia hurriedly explained to her friend, worried about her son.

"Don't worry Delia. You go ahead. We can talk later," Mrs. Ketchum's friend said, escorting her to the door, "You have a good night dear! Tell Ash I said hello!" Mrs. Ketchum nodded and embraced the cool night air as she briskly began walking home. Luckily, it was only moments before her house came into view. But she furled her brow as she noticed that there were no lights on in the house, except for the minimal light in the living room, filtering through the blinds.

"Ash knows he shouldn't be watching T.V. at this hour!" Mrs. Ketchum mumbled to herself angrily. As she got closer, she noticed a girl sitting on the front porch, apparently asleep. It was Dawn! Then she noticed that Pikachu was snoozing on the bench as well with Riolu and Kirlia off to the side.

"Dawn? What are you doing out here?" Mrs. Ketchum asked as she lightly shook Dawn awake. It took a couple of shakes, but after a while, she came to.

"Oh...Mrs. Ketchum..." Dawn said with a yawn, "I was waiting for you. The door is locked. And Ash and Latias aren't answering it." Mrs. Ketchum frowned. It wasn't like Ash to not answer the door, especially if it was a friend.

"What about you Pikachu? Did you hear Ash or Latias when you tried to get in?" Delia asked the little electric mouse as his sensitive hearing woke him up. Pikachu shook his head sadly. She tried to think of all the reasons why Ash would keep the front door locked, and none of them sounded any better than the next. Fumbling with the keys, she finally unlocked the door, mumbling to herself about how much trouble Ash was going to be in. She let Dawn, Pikachu, Riolu and Kirlia walk in first, closing and locking the door behind her. Immediately, she noticed that the T.V. was indeed still on and seemed to be showing the ending credits of a movie. Ash was going to get an earful for this. She stalked over to the couch, preparing to chew out her son.

"Ashton!" Delia began, but stopped as she laid her eyes upon the scene before her. Ash and Latias were curled up underneath the same blanket, snoozing away, cuddled up together. If she was a school girl, she'd have squealed. It was just so cute.

"What's wrong Mrs. Ketchum?" Dawn asked as she noticed Ash's mother go completely silent.

"Quick! Dawn!" Delia whispered, "Bring me the camera." Dawn was really confused as to why Mrs. Ketchum needed the camera so desperately, but retrieved it for her anyway. As she walked over to Ash's mom, she noticed that she looked extremely giddy and bouncy, and Dawn had no idea why. Then as she finally rounded around the couch, she realized what was making Delia so happy and giggled at the sight. It really was quite precious, the way that Latias seemed to just fit perfectly underneath Ash's arm like two pieces of the same puzzle. Dawn sighed dreamily. She wished someone would hold her like that.

"Isn't it adorable?" Mrs. Ketchum gushed as she rapidly took pictures of the snoozing couple. All the fuss attracted the attention of Pikachu, Kirlia and Riolu. So they headed over too. As soon as they laid their eyes on the sleeping couple, they all had mixed responses. Kirlia was giggling. Pikachu was sitting their wide-eyed and open mouthed. Riolu just sort of folded his arms and smirked.

"I thought they said they weren't mates..." Kirlia said with a giggle. Pikachu sweatdropped. Why hadn't had the chance to talk to Ash about pokemon mating yet!

"He sure looks comfortable despite not being Latias' mate," Riolu remarked with a snicker. Briefly, he wondered what it would feel like to snuggle up to Kirlia like that. But as soon as that thought formed, he shook it out of his head, feeling silly for thinking such things.

"Aww that's so sweet. She even made him dinner!" Delia remarked as she noticed the empty plate in front on Ash. She then realized that Ash had basically gone on a date with Latias, in his own house! It was a really strange thought. All of the attention was starting to make Latias stir however, and Mrs. Ketchum decided to shoo everyone away. "Okay okay. That's enough. I'll make you guys some dinner, and then it's immediately off to bed. We'll eat in the dinning room so we don't disturb them." They nodded and left the couple to their rest.

On her way out, Mrs. Ketchum took one last glance at her son. A small tear leaked from her eyes as she finally accepted what she knew had been happening for years. She knew that eventually that it was going to happen, and tonight was really one of the last nails in the coffin. Her little boy really was growing up...and soon he wouldn't need her anymore.

* * *

The Next Morning

Latias yawned as she awoke from her very pleasant sleep. For some reason, she had slept substantially better last night than she had ever before in her life. And right now, she really didn't feel like moving either and closed her half-open eyes. It was warm, comfortable and basically perfect. The blanket and the breathing pillow made it wonderfully comfy.

"_Wait...breathing pillow?" _Latias thought to herself as her eyes snapped open. She looked up to see that she was currently resting on Ash, her secret crush. Then, she realized that she had basically slept through the entire night cuddled up to Ash, under the same blanket, right out in the open. Immediately, her face turned as cherry red as the color of her Latias wings. Her heart began to speed up extremely fast as she finally registered how compromising her position was at the moment. And much to her chagrin, Ash began to wake up. Within moments, Ash too had opened his eyes.

"Morning Latias," Ash yawned out as he moved his hands in an upward stretch as he worked out his morning stiffness. When he didn't receive a response, he turned to his left to see Latias' face completely flushed and wondered to himself as to why. Then, the events of last night suddenly flooded his memory: the cooking, the movie, the blanket, the cuddling...the goodnight kiss. And suddenly, his face heated up to match hers. However, Ash tried to keep it as light as he could, trying to avoid a potentially disastrous awkward moment.

"How did you sleep?" he asked, his voice just a bit uneven, but his face still held a goofy smile, allowing Latias to regain control of her mouth.

"Great," Latias breathed out while returning his smile with a shy grin of her own, "You make a good pillow." Latias would have smacked herself if she could for letting that last part slip out, much to her mortification. And as a result, Ash's blush only intensified, not used to that level of intimacy. So, he responded in the only way he really knew how to.

"Want to get some breakfast?" Ash asked with a bright grin and a rumbling, empty, hungry stomach. Latias laughed at Ash's typical behavior, glad that some things were always predictable.

"Sure," Latias responded with a small giggle, "I can make some if you want." Ash nodded happily. If it was as good as last night's dinner, then of course Ash wanted her to cook some more. And after a moment's hesitation from both parties, they threw off their blanket and hopped off of the couch. Ash decided to go take a shower while Latias began preparing breakfast.

While Latias was rummaging around for pots, pans, tools, and ingredients, the other woman of the house, Mrs. Ketchum, awoke. She walked into the kitchen to find an already busy Latias preparing breakfast.

"Good morning dear," Mrs. Ketchum greeted with a cheery smile.

'Good morning Mrs. Ketchum,' Latias answered happily, flashing her a smile. Mrs. Ketchum took a seat at the table, watching Latias diligently work for a couple moments.

"So how did you sleep?" Mrs. Ketchum threw out randomly and bluntly, causing Latias to nearly drop the knife she was using. Latias stopped what she was doing and sighed. She knew that Mrs. Ketchum must have seen her sleeping arrangements.

'Are...are you mad at me?' Latias asked quietly as she slowly laid the knife down onto the counter-top. She didn't dare look at Mrs. Ketchum now out of fear for what she would see there. It could have been anything, fear, anger, worry, or maybe a combination of emotions. But no matter what it was, Latias was afraid of looking. So, Latias didn't notice Mrs. Ketchum smile.

"Of course not dear," Mrs. Ketchum answered kindly, a sly undertone accompanying her speech, "I was just wondering how you slept last night. You did look awfully comfortable. So how did you sleep dear?"

'Good,' Latias' mental voice squeaked as her face became hot enough to cook the egg she was about to start cracking.

"Oh? Just good?" Delia baited, a fox-like grin adorning her face, "I would have thought that you would have slept better than that, seeing as you did have my son as your pillow. And judging by the way you two were cuddling up to each other, I thought that you had great sleep." Latias froze up like a statue, completely freaking out now. How was she supposed to respond to a question like that, especially since it was Ash's mother.

Mrs. Ketchum watched as Latias fidgeted in her spot in extreme embarrassment and nervousness. And with each passing moment, her smile just seemed to get larger and larger, until she decided to have some mercy on the poor girl.

"Come here Latias. We need to talk," Mrs. Ketchum said softly and seriously as she patted the seat to her immediate right. Latias slowly made her way over to the table, not sure what to expect from Ash's mother at this point. But she obeyed and took a seat next to the older woman. Delia hummed to herself for a while as she let the suspense build, and finally, she turned towards the flustered girl eon dragon.

"Ash...he is the most important to in the world to me," Delia said looking out the nearby window and then turning towards Latias with a sympathetic smile, "I can see that you think the same...I think it's amazing how close Ash has already gotten to you, despite it being barely two weeks since you re-united with him. I see that you care for him, and I think that he cares a lot about you. I can tell that you are far more mature than you look. And now...I need you to answer this question truthfully," Latias blinked rapidly, both fearing and anticipating the question Ash's mother was about to ask her.

"Do you love him?" Mrs. Ketchum asked plainly, her face devoid of any emotions for Latias to play off of. Right now, Latias really wished that she had perfected her emotion sensing years ago. She was completely taken aback by Mrs. Ketchum's sudden important question. And even worse, how would she respond? She had no idea what the ramifications of answering either way would be, and briefly, she wondered if this was how Kirlia had felt when she had asked the same question a week ago. But, drawing strength from the strength that Kirlia had showed that night, Latias prepared to answer.

'Yes,' Latias answered firmly, and Delia closed her eyes as Latias' answer resounded in her mind.

"I envy you," Mrs. Ketchum said with a sad yet happy smile as she looked into Latias' golden-brown eyes, causing Latias to furl her brow in confusion.

'Why?' the eon dragon asked, a bit alarmed.

"Because," Delia sighed, "One day, I think, you'll end up doing the job I have now, which is taking care of Ash...But I know that if I'm right...he'll always be in good hands." Latias was completely thunderstruck.

'I...I...don't know what to say,' Latias' mental voice whispered back at a complete loss for words.

"It's okay. I know," Delia said, taking Latias' hands into her own, "Just promise me that you'll always take care of him please." Latias looked into Ash's mother's eyes and saw the amount of love and care that she held for Ash, something that she understood. How could she say no?

'Of course,' Latias answered, 'I promise that I will take care of him.' Mrs. Ketchum nodded, satisfied. And a couple comfortable moments of silence passed through the room, leaving both of them to their thoughts.

"Oh! What are we doing here! We need to get breakfast done. Come on then Latias," Mrs. Ketchum said as she stood up from her seat, motioning for the eon dragon to follow. Latias nodded happily as she assisted Delia in preparing a wonderful and delightful breakfast for a morning that was anything but ordinary.

* * *

Breakfast was as good as, if not better, than his dinner last night, Ash decided. When he had come back down the stairs, he found his mother already awake and helping with the morning meal. By the time he had reached the table, the smell of delicious pancakes, bacon, eggs and other assorted breakfast foods had completely enveloped the entire household. Soon, Pikachu, Kirlia and Riolu could be seen hopping down the steps of the stairs drawn by the wonderful smells.

"Hey! Morning Pikachu, Kirlia, Riolu," Ash said as he waved from the table, "Come and eat some breakfast. Mom and Latias just finished making it." They eagerly rushed to the table, taking their seats, Pikachu to Ash's left with Kirlia and Riolu across, respectively. "How'd you sleep buddy?"

"Good. Your bed is really comfy. Especially when I have it all to myself," Pikachu answered cheekily, "_Though, I bet you slept even better."_ Ash chuckled heartily at his response, remembering how Pikachu had taken to his bed a week and a half ago.

"How about you Kirlia? Riolu?" Ash questioned as he took a bite out of his pancake.

"Great!" Kirlia answered happily, "The guest room bed is really comfortable." Ash nodded and turned to Riolu for an answer. For reasons unknown to Ash, Riolu's face flushed in a brilliant blush .

"uh...great," Riolu responded as he shoved a couple pieces of bacon into his mouth. Pikachu gave him a sly look. Before he had gone to bed, Pikachu had lead Riolu and Kirlia to the guest room. And as he closed the door, he had heard Kirlia's request to sleep in the same bed. Due to the previous day's events, Riolu couldn't deny her.

"You weren't the only couple that slept great last night," Pikachu murmured sneakily into his bowl, lighting up Kirlia's face in a brilliant red. Ash didn't really catch it, so he had no idea why Kirlia had "decided" to spontaneously redden. But a new voice caused both Riolu's and Kirlia's blush to vanish as they turned their attention to the approaching person.

"Hey! Good morning everyone!" a bright bouncy voice said as she walked down the stairs, accompanied by her faithful partner, Piplup.

"Morning Dawn," they all answered back from their various positions in the room. She had made it down just in time for the last batch and joined the table along with Latias and Mrs. Ketchum, taking her seat to Pikachu's right as Piplup took the seat across from her. Latias took the seat to Ash's left, conveniently left open, and Mrs. Ketchum sat down across from the eon dragon. And then they all started feasting away.

"Wow! This is just like Brock's cooking! It's so good Mrs. Ketchum!" Dawn exclaimed as she took a bite out of her food.

"Why thank you Dawn. But really Latias made most of this," Mrs. Ketchum said with a grin, "I really only helped." Latias mildly flushed, pleased by the recognition and compliment.

"Wow. How did you learn to cook like this Latias?" Dawn asked, amazed that Latias was such an accomplished chef.

'Oh, Bianca and Lorenzo taught me some. After, I just practiced and experimented. Cooking is my next favorite thing to drawing and painting,' Latias said, a bright smile radiating on her face. Dawn nodded.

"So what are we doing today? We got a whole day ahead of us. And Brock and Misty won't be back till tomorrow." Dawn said after finishing her breakfast, eager to get out to enjoy the beautiful day.

"Well we're training of course!" Ash responded, determined to not waste another day, "I have to get ready for when the pokemon leagues come back around! I want to win this year's Kanto league!" They all laughed in fondness at Ash's usual actions.

"Alright then! Let's head out!" Dawn said, "I need to work on some more combinations that I've been wanting to test!" Ash nodded, standing up eagerly. Pikachu hopped off of his seat, ready to do some training, and Latias stood up as well, really wanting to train as well. They rushed off with Dawn and Piplup trailing behind. Riolu stood up to follow, but was stopped by Kirlia.

"We need to talk first," Kirlia said as she lead Riolu outside in a leisurely stroll, allowing the others to get ahead. They decided to just walk along the path to Professor Oak's lab, which was where Ash and Dawn intended to train.

"Okay. What's this about?" Riolu asked, as he walked alongside his best friend.

"The orbs..." Kirlia said slowly as she glanced to her left to watch his reaction. Riolu stopped walking suddenly, and Kirlia turned to face him.

"What about the orbs?" Riolu asked, his face serious and thoughtful.

"We need to tell them about them," Kirlia answered, "They need to know what's going on! And maybe they can do something to reverse the damage." Riolu shook his head.

"There's too much at stake. And you know that this secret is not allowed to be told to humans!" Riolu answered back heatedly.

"Well in case you haven't noticed, Ash isn't exactly human! And he's the Chosen One. I just know it. You know what the legend says! He can help!" Kirlia said back, her voice raised just a bit. Riolu sighed as the ground became suddenly very interesting to him.

"I know...I know...but there's just too much at risk..." Riolu answered as he kicked a stray pebble lying on the road, "And they could get hurt if we get them involved...all of them..." Kirlia reached forward and grabbed on of his paws in a comforting manner, understanding his position on the matter.

"I know...but we have to do something. If we don't more could be corrupted, and then that would mean the eventual end of the world. It's our responsibility to do something about it. We're one of the few that know," Kirlia said softly.

"Hah...us and all the legendaries who... by now...should really be the one's doing something about this mess..." Riolu answered, frustrated,

"They should. But we can do something too," she said, eliciting another big sigh from Riolu.

"Alright. Alright. We'll tell them about it," Riolu answered, hoping that he wouldn't regret this decision.

"Promise?" Kirlia asked looking directly into Riolu's eyes pleadingly, something that Riolu was powerless to resist against.

"Yes. I promise," Riolu answered back covering her hand with his other paw. Kirlia nodded happily, and they continued their walk to where Ash and Dawn were training. Everything was about to change.

* * *

Up somewhere high in the skies of the magnificent Earth

"How much lonnngggerrrrrr are we going to flyyyyyyy?" Mew asked as she was beginning to tire from flying for such a long time. She hadn't even had her daily nap for the last two days.

"We need to find Ash, Mew. You know how important this is," Mewtwo answered for the one-thousandth time.

"But we've been flying for two days straight! And he could be anywhere in the world by now..." Mew complained, her stomach making the loudest complaints. Mewtwo sighed in impatience.

"Fine. We will make a stop soon. Ash's hometown is near, and I'm sure his pokemon would be glad to accommodate us," Mewtwo answered as he rolled his eyes.

"YAY!" Mew exclaimed while doing a little flip in the air out of happiness. Mewtwo just shook his head, feeling sorry for himself. The sooner they got the lab, the better, and he surged forward. Once they got good food and rest, they could resume their search for Ash. Perhaps, his pokemon would know where he was, the fate of the world relied on it.

* * *

Yooohoo! I'm backkk! And pretty soon this time I do think! Hehe, this chapter I was laying it pretty hard on the fluff. And for those who wanted some more action, well there was action, just a different kind. :D

But the revealing of the biggest secret of my story is coming soon! So look forward to it, because the real adventure is just starting!

Thank you for reading and please review!

-Mekon


	15. Ch14: An Ancient Past Part 1

**DISCLAIMER**

Imagine...a five-star buffet with anything and everything you could every hope and dream to eat with Ash sitting there, eating and drinking absolutely...nothing. Yeah. My ownership of pokemon is that impossible.

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

A/N

A thousand apologies! I know it has been ages since I've updated! I've been super busy lately with school and stuff. But I did make this chapter really long just for you guys. And I'm sorry if there isn't much legendary interaction yet. That is all in the next part!

On another note. WOW! 200+ reviews! I'm soo happy! Thanks so much to everyone! I really really appreciate it!

End A/N

* * *

Last Time:

"_Well in case you haven't noticed, Ash isn't exactly human! And he's the Chosen One. I just know it. You know what the legend says! He can help!" Kirlia said back, her voice raised just a bit. Riolu sighed as the ground became suddenly very interesting to him. _

"_I know...I know...but there's just too much at risk..." Riolu answered as he kicked a stray pebble lying on the road, "And they could get hurt if we get them involved...all of them..." Kirlia reached forward and grabbed on of his paws in a comforting manner, understanding his position on the matter._

"_I know...but we have to do something. If we don't more could be corrupted, and then that would mean the eventual end of the world. It's our responsibility to do something about it. We're one of the few that know," Kirlia said softly. _

"_Hah...us and all the legendaries who... by now...should really be the one's doing something about this mess..." Riolu answered, frustrated,_

"_They should. But we can do something too," she said, eliciting another big sigh from Riolu. _

"_Alright. Alright. We'll tell them about it," Riolu answered, hoping that he wouldn't regret this decision. _

"_Promise?" Kirlia asked looking directly into Riolu's eyes pleadingly, something that Riolu was powerless to resist against. _

"_Yes. I promise," Riolu answered back covering her hand with his other paw. Kirlia nodded happily, and they continued their walk to where Ash and Dawn were training. Everything was about to change._

* * *

_Up somewhere high in the skies of the magnificent Earth_

"_How much lonnngggerrrrrr are we going to flyyyyyyy?" Mew asked as she was beginning to tire from flying for such a long time. She hadn't even had her daily nap for the last two days. _

"_We need to find Ash, Mew. You know how important this is," Mewtwo answered for the one-thousandth time._

"_But we've been flying for two days straight! And he could be anywhere in the world by now..." Mew complained, her stomach making the loudest complaints. Mewtwo sighed in impatience. _

"_Fine. We will make a stop soon. Ash's hometown is near, and I'm sure his pokemon would be glad to accommodate us," Mewtwo answered as he rolled his eyes. _

"_YAY!" Mew exclaimed while doing a little flip in the air out of happiness. Mewtwo just shook his head, feeling sorry for himself. The sooner they got the lab, the better, and he surged forward. Once they got good food and rest, they could resume their search for Ash. Perhaps, his pokemon would know where he was, the fate of the world relied on it. _

* * *

Ch14: An Ancient Past Part 1

"Great job Mamoswine!" Dawn cheered as her twin tusk pokemon's Ice Shard smashed into Ash's Gabite, knocking him out, winning the round and leaving Ash with only one pokemon left to use. Moments before, Piplup had been easily defeated by Ash's faithful Pikachu, and Buneary hadn't fared any better against Ash's Gabite, despite being able to use her super-effective Ice Beam. But once she had whipped out her Mamoswine, a powerhouse of pure muscle and brute strength, she had been able to turn the tide, knocking out both Pikachu and Gabite. Now it was one on one, and she waited for Ash to call out his last pokemon.

Ash, now sweating profusely from the intensity of the battle and the hot sun hanging above, considered his options. He really wished that he had taken along one of his other fire pokemon right about now, but the last one he had had, Infernape, was currently somewhere on the laboratory fields looking over and protecting his other pokemon. Charizard was still out of commission after flying both Brock and Misty to their respective homes, so he was not an option. Quilava was off playing somewhere as well. This left him with Torterra, Gliscor, Buizel, and Staraptor. And he grimaced as he realized that none of them would be a good match to fight Mamoswine except for Buizel perhaps. But Ash knew that Dawn was well aware of Buizel's power and speed, seeing as he was previously owned by her, and feared the possibility of her having counters already set up against him. Then a sudden idea came to him as he went through all of his available pokemon again.

'Latias!' Ash telepathically said, 'Are you up for battling right now?' Latias who had been watching from the sidelines jumped as Ash's sudden message popped into her head. She looked at her would be opponent if she decided to battle and flinched a bit at the sheer size and magnitude of Dawn's pokemon. But she steeled herself, wanting to get stronger for herself and for Ash. So, she transformed into her Latias form, unknown by Dawn and her pokemon, and cloaked herself, making her way to the field. Ash didn't even have to receive any sort of indication from Latias because he just somehow knew that she had agreed to battle for him.

"C'mon Ash! Mamoswine and I are waiting to kick your butt!" Dawn egged on, completely sure that she had the upper-hand. Ash mentally went through Latias' move-set, strengths and weaknesses. He knew that she too was quite susceptible to ice attacks, but he hoped that her superior agility and mobility would allow her to avoid such attacks and catch Dawn and Mamoswine off guard. And he had some other ideas as well, sure that they would surprise Dawn entirely.

"Alright then! I choose Latias!" Ash exclaimed, really excited to see how Latias would battle.

"Huh! Latias!" Dawn yelled out in disbelief. She had forgotten that Latias was officially under Ash's care, and that she was also an available battler. Dawn had gotten used to seeing and thinking of Latias as a human, so she was totally unprepared for this. She looked to the last place she had seen the relaxing girl eon dragon only to find that spot now devoid of one Latias. Dawn absentmindedly wondered when she had disappeared. She knew that she couldn't be in her pokeball at least, seeing as Ash had not ever called her back. But now that Ash had chosen Latias to battle, Dawn knew she would be showing up at any moment.

Then out of thin air, Latias materialized majestically directly in front of Ash, ready and pumped for battle. Dawn had to admit to herself that her entrance itself was quite intimidating and promised that a difficult battle was up and coming.

"Your move Dawn," Ash answered coolly, strangely calm and confident. Dawn didn't know what to think. She was so used to seeing impulsiveness and recklessness in Ash, and her incredulity almost caused her to not catch what Ash had just said. But she shook her head, moving her attention to the battle.

"Let's go Mamoswine! Ice Shard!" Dawn ordered confidently. She knew that Latias would be susceptible to ice attacks, and maybe she could get a lucky first strike in. The twin tusk pokemon grunted in response as it gathered an enormous ice shard and launched it directly at the floating dragon in front of him. The shard of ice bolted towards the red eon, and if Latias didn't move soon, that ice ball would score a powerful and dangerous direct hit. Ash concentrated, watching the motion and trajectory of the incoming attack and acted at the last possible moment.

'Quick! Fly up!' Ash commanded telepathically to Latias. Dawn watched at first with elation, thinking that she had somehow caught Ash and Latias off guard, but her happiness quickly disappeared as Latias sharply flew up at the last possible moment dodging the Ice Shard that Mamoswine had sent her way. But the strange thing was...Dawn could have sworn that she hadn't heard any order to dodge from Ash.

'Use Dragonbreath,' Ash said, and Latias unleashed a powerful torrent of dragon-fire at the mammoth Mamoswine. Dawn, not expecting an attack, couldn't react in time and watched as her Mamoswine became enveloped in an intense flame as its roars of pain echoed around the field. Dawn had to think quickly because Mamoswine was trapped in the constant shower of dragon-fire coming from Latias. She brightened as she thought of how she could break Mamoswine free of the attack.

"Quick Mamoswine! Ice Shard and swallow!" Dawn yelled quickly. She knew that Mamoswine was a strong pokemon, but she wasn't sure how long he could handle attacks from a legendary pokemon so she needed him to act quickly. Mamoswine concentrated and struggled to form the ice ball, but with a steadfast determination he did it and swallowed his attack, allowing its power to flow through him. Icy spikes erupted on his back, effectively protecting him from Latias' Dragonbreath, the flames deflecting off of the powerful ice armor. "Great! Now use Take Down!" Mamoswine surged forward, aiming its icicle horn at Latias in attempt to inflict the most damage upon the floating eon dragon. Ash knew that Mamoswine was going much to fast to dodge, and his girth would prevent that as well.

'Quick! Use Protect Latias!' Ash telepathed. Latias quickly formed a powerful, shimmering green shield and awaited the collision of the charging Mamoswine. Withing moments and with a mighty leap, Mamoswine's Ice-Shard-Take-Down smashed powerfully into Latias' Protect, greatly testing her strength. Small cracks began to appear in her barrier, and she feared that her shield would soon fall. Ash had to think quickly, because he knew that Protect could only hold out for so long. 'Use Psychic to throw away Mamoswine!'

Latias' eyes began glowing blue as her psych surrounded the massive twin tusk pokemon and with great effort, threw him away, smashing Mamoswine into the floor painfully. Latias slowly sank to the floor, just barely hovering above it as soon as the attack ended.

'Are you okay Latias?' Ash asked worriedly. He knew that she didn't have that much experience in battling and was worried that asking her to battle Mamoswine was too much.

'I'm fine,' Latias answered, determined to stay strong; she would not give up so easily and was steadfast in finishing this battle, even if it meant possibly losing. Ash nodded in understanding. Dawn, watched the exchange and it finally clicked how Latias was "acting on her own"

"Hey! Not fair Ash! I can't use telepathy to talk to my pokemon!" Dawn complained, drawing a smile from Ash.

"Sorry Dawn! But I have to use every advantage I've got!" Ash yelled back, a boyish grin accompanying his rebuttal.

"Well you're still going down! Telepathy or no telepathy!" Dawn responded, just as determined to win as Ash was, "Let's go Mamoswine! Ice Shard and Hidden Power! And make it spin!" The twin tusk pokemon simultaneously formed both attacks in-between his hardened tusks, and his Hidden Power fused with his Ice Shard, creating a powerful combination move. (1) The orb of ice, surrounded by small ovals of Hidden Power, came hurtling towards Latias, but then all of a sudden it changed its direction, now heading towards the ground underneath Latias. Ash smiled, believing that Mamoswine had missed, and merely ordered Latias to fly a little further up to avoid the attack. Dawn grinned at his response. Ash had no idea what her newest combination did.

The combination attack connected with the ground, and the moment it did, the Ice Shard exploded, blasting out the attached frozen Hidden Power like a frag grenade. Ash watched helplessly as hundreds of little frozen orbs smashed into Latias with super-effective damage, sending her plummeting towards the ground with a painful thud.

"Latias!" Ash yelled, as he rushed forward to help the fallen eon dragon. But then a sudden voice invaded his mind, causing him to stop as the fallen figure of Latias began to stir.

'N...no. I can...do this,' Latias' mental voice said haggardly, as her body began slowly lifting itself off of the ground. Ash watched, amazed, as she slowly hoisted herself up and faced her opponent, ready to continue and end this battle, despite the beating she had just taken. Ash gulped, worried for the well-being of the girl eon dragon.

"Are you sure?" Ash asked, distress and worry filling his voice. This was only a practice battle after all, and he didn't want either pokemon seriously hurt. But Latias was adamant in continuing, and Ash respected her decision.

"That was an impressive attack Dawn!" Ash complimented, quite impressed with the innovative combinations that Dawn continued to pump out, "But I think it's time for us to show you some of our combinations!"

'Turn invisible Latias and get right above Mamoswine,' Ash ordered, and the eon dragon disappeared, causing Dawn and Mamoswine to panic.

"Uhhhhh...quick rapid fire Ice Shard! See if you can hit her!" Dawn said, not having anything planned to counter Latias' quite unique ability. Unfortunately for Dawn and Mamoswine, none of Mamoswine's Ice Shard hit the hidden Latias.

'Use Mist Ball and Dragonbreath. Then manipulate them with Psychic to cover yourself with them and spin them too for more power. Then head straight for Mamoswine! Use Protect to stay safe from the collision.' Ash improvised, knowing that Latias would make it work. Dawn looked around rapidly, trying to catch any sign of Latias' whereabouts, but unfortunately, she did not think of looking up. Up above Mamoswine's position, a sudden glowing mist began to appear and shape itself, followed by a sudden flash of light from fire which drew the attention of Dawn.

"Now Latias!" Ash exclaimed, knowing that if this attack hit it would all be over.

The Sinnoh coordinator gasped, completely caught off guard and stunned, as she watched a fiery-mist-enveloped Latias race towards the unsuspecting twin tusk pokemon like a bullet. Quite literally within seconds, Latias smashed into the enormous pokemon, creating an explosion of psychic mist and fire that enveloped the battlefield. Dawn and Ash closed their eyes as the explosion washed over them, kicking up dirt and rocks with it.

Once they opened their eyes, all that they could see was a mixture of kicked up dust and leftover mist. But as the sun filtered through the translucent debris, the figure of a still floating dragon and fallen twin tusk pokemon shined through.

"Latias can you use Psychic to get rid of all this mist and dust please!" Ash asked over the silence, and with a little psychic power, the battlefield was as clean as the result was. Mamoswine was on the floor, eye's unfocused and knocked out with Latias floating above him, though only just.

"Mamoswine return!" Dawn said as she shot the red beam of Mamoswine's pokeball, recalling her fainted pokemon, "You did great! I couldn't be more proud! You'll do great in our next contest! Go and take a nice long rest...You deserved it." Latias weakly floated back to her trainer, exhausted and worn down, but extremely pleased with herself. Ash ran forward, noticing how tired she looked. And as he got to her, she fell straight into his arms, too tired to keep floating. He knelt down onto the ground, making sure to keep her safe in his arms.

"You were absolutely amazing," Ash whispered with a smile as he let her neck and head rest on his knees, "I'm really proud of you." Pikachu complimented her on her success as well, very impressed. After all, she was a legendary. He shivered at the thought at how strong she would be if properly trained. Dawn hurried over too, sharing her compliments and congratulating Latias for defeating her strongest pokemon.

"How do you feel Latias?" Ash asked, as he cradled her in his arms.

'Sooooo tired...' Latias whined, which was met with friendly laughter all around. Ash smiled in understanding, telling her to rest a bit, while stroking her neck soothingly. Dawn giggled at the scene, recalling what she had witnessed just last night, and Ash looked at her strangely, wondering why she seemed to be giggling at him.

"What?" Ash asked cluelessly, not having a clue as to why the Sinnoh trainer seemed to be enjoying herself so much.

"Oh nothing," Dawn responded, trying her best to hide her fit of giggles from the rather dense Ash. Pikachu sweatdropped, knowing exactly why Dawn was giggling. He swore, if battling didn't kill him first, dealing with Ash's denseness would. Ash shook his head, deciding to just dismiss Dawn's actions and just rest. So they all laid down on the grass, just looking into the sky and watching the clouds, feeling at peace with the world. Ash closed his eyes, feeling the calm wind wash over him and the steady beat of Latias' heart.

"Getting comfortable again Ash?" a sudden voice asked teasingly, causing Ash to bend around to see who the voice belonged to. He found a smirking Riolu standing over him with mischief in his eyes.

"Riolu," Kirlia hissed, elbowing Riolu sharpy in his side, causing him to twitch from the sharp pain. He gave Kirlia a dirty look, but Kirlia countered by flashing Riolu a brilliant, disarming smile, effectively winning over Riolu. He pouted at his loss, but didn't push the issue, and Ash chuckled heartily at the scene.

"Where were you guys? Did you see our battle?" Ash asked, sitting up and still holding Latias' in his lap. He tried recalling if he had seen them while the battle had been taking place, but no image came to his mind.

"Oh we saw the last part," Kirlia chimed, "Latias did great. We saw the last attack. It was really pretty and, judging from the explosion, powerful too." Ash smiled, glad they had at least seen some of the battle.

"What were you guys doing though?" Pikachu asked slyly as he hopped off of Ash's shoulder, his tone suggestive and teasing. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't resist teasing Riolu and Kirlia, "You two weren't getting too...'comfortable' back there now were you?" Kirlia and Riolu immediately reddened at his implied words, and Pikachu rolled over laughing at the pair's almost immediate reaction. Latias lightly giggled too, loving how cute they were together.

"I don't get it," Ash lamented, now completely lost. Pikachu rolled his eyes hopelessly.

"I'll tell you later maybe Ash," Pikachu assuaged, an ear-to-ear grin appearing on his face.

"Uhh...okay. So what were you guys doing anyway?" Ash continued, wanting to know what had held them up.

"Uhhhh we were uh...exploring a bit," Kirila improvised quickly, trying to find a way to introduce the true topic she and Riolu wished to discuss smoothy.

"Is that what they are calling it these days?" Pikachu joked, drawing yet another deep blush from the psychic and fighting type. Riolu gave him a dark look which was only responded with more laughter from the small electric mouse pokemon.

"I think that's enough Pikachu," Latias reprimanded lightly, although obvious amusement could be seen in her golden-brown eyes. Pikachu rolled his eyes, deciding to give Riolu and Kirlia a reprieve. Ash continued to not follow the conversation, so he just decided to ignore it and ask again.

"So what were you guys doing exactly?" Ash repeated, curiosity overtaking him. He really wanted to know; he had a strange feeling that it was extremely important. Riolu looked to Kirlia for one last confirmation, and she nodded, giving him the go ahead.

"We wanted to talk to you about where we came from. And we need to tell you more about the orb that we came here with," Riolu said, setting himself onto the grass, preparing for a long talk. Ash motioned for Dawn to come over, knowing that she would be interested in Kirlia and Riolu's story. But he grimaced as he realized that he would have to relay all of Kirlia and Riolu's words. However, a genius thought came to him.

"Well instead of telling us. Why don't you show us?" Ash asked with a smile, glad that he wouldn't have to tell the entire story again in English to Dawn.

"What? How would we do that?" Kirlia asked, not following Ash at all. And by the looks of her best friend, they all could tell Riolu was just as confused as Kirlia.

"Latias and I have the power of memory projection and viewing," Ash answered with a wink. Kirlia and Riolu raised their eyebrows, never hearing of such a power existing before. "I'll explain how we think it works later."

"But Ash! We've never tried it on two people before! What if something bad happens?" Latias exclaimed, extreme concern for the well-being of herself, Riolu, Kirlia and Ash in mind. They would be in the most danger due to the mental links that would be forged between them if Ash's plan didn't pan out. Plus, she was still weak from her battle and would be the most vulnerable.

This caused Ash stop for a moment and think twice about trying to project Kirlia's and Riolu's memories, not realizing that their could be possible repercussions if the process failed. But he really didn't want to relay all of their story to the non-pokespeaking Dawn, later Misty and Brock, in English all over again.

"I know we can do it," Ash said with an encouraging smile, "I believe in you Latias." And the young trainer gently took Latias' hand in a trusting manner, causing a small blush to form on Latias' face. "But are you strong enough right now to go through with it? I don't want you to strain yourself or get hurt." Latias was severely weakened, but she didn't want to disappoint Ash.

"I think I'll be okay. I have enough energy left I think," Latias answered. Ash nodded.

"Alright! Ready everyone?" Ash asked as they all gathered around Latias, Ash, Riolu and Kirlia. They nodded, both eons focused their psychs and psychic energies towards the small fighting and psychic type. As soon as they touched the two small pokemon's memories, the scenery faded away into nothingness as Riolu and Kirlia's memories filled their minds.

* * *

Five Years Earlier

It was an early bright morning, and Riolu blinked rapidly as the morning sun's rays shined directly onto his face from a spacious hole in the ceiling meant to allow light and air in. He groaned and turned over, trying to salvage a couple more moments of precious sleep.

"Riolu," a gruff yet friendly voice said, "Sun's up. So it's time for you to get up too."

"Ugh. Can't I just have a few more minutes of sleep Dad?" Riolu groggily groaned out as he tried to sink back into blissful unconsciousness.

"Nope!" Riolu's father said shortly, "But if you really want to sleep in, I'll just take your extra breakfast that Mom's making. I hear she made your favorite this morning." Riolu opened one eye to squint at his fathers face and saw a smirking Blaziken hovering over him.

"Fine," Riolu sighed as he sat up and rubbed his eyes slowly.

"Are you sure? I think that you would much rather go back to sleep. And I think your breakfast agrees with me," the powerful fire-type said with a chuckle.

"Dad!" Riolu exclaimed as he lunged forward and tackled his father playfully, their laughter echoing around the cave.

"Breakfast is ready!" a soft feminine voice said as Riolu and his father stopped their morning play session.

"Alright. Let's go son. After breakfast we have to train some more," the large Blaziken said as he ushered his son to the breakfast area. Riolu nodded as he ran to the next room, where a female Lucario was finishing up breakfast.

"Morning honey," she said as she scooped up her son and nuzzled him affectionately.

"Morning mom," he said happily, nuzzling her back, and then moving straight to breakfast. Riolu's father chuckled and gave his mate a quick peck on the cheek before diving into breakfast as well.

"Ready for today's training Riolu?" the Blaziken asked as he popped an entire Tomato berry into his mouth without breaking a sweat, a personal favorite of his.

"Mhmm," Riolu hummed as he chewed his food and swallowed, "What are we doing today?"

"I'll be teaching you Blaze Kick today," Riolu's father said with a wink.

"Wow! Let's go now!" Riolu said as he stood up, eager to learn his father's most powerful move. Blaziken heartily laughed at his son's enthusiasm.

"We will son. But we're going to go visit Kirlia first," the fire-type responded, drawing a nod from Riolu. Blaziken then turned to address his mate, "We'll be back later dear." Riolu's mother nodded and hurried over to give her two men a kiss goodbye.

"Make sure to tell Gardevoir, Gallade and Kirlia I said hi," the female Lucario called as she watched her son and mate walk towards the cave of their friends.

* * *

Off in another cave

"Kirlia! Time to get up dear!" a soft voice called, causing a sleeping psychic-type to stir. Kirlia rolled over and opened her eyes to see soft daylight filtering in through the doorway. She sat up slowly, stretching and yawning at the same time to shake off the remaining sleep. Gradually, she rubbed out the sand in her eyes and stood up. After washing up and preparing for the day, she waltz into the main room where her parents were already eating.

"Morning Mommy! Morning Daddy," she chimed as she took some breakfast to eat. They smiled and returned the greeting happily.

"What are we doing today?" Kirlia asked, curiously.

"Well Riolu and his father are coming over today," Gardevoir said, noticing the small blush that appeared on Kirlia's face at the mention of the young fighting-type, and Kirlia's mother smiled knowingly. "Why don't you train with them afterward?" Gallade agreed wholeheartedly, glad that his daughter would still be learning something about fighting-type attack styles, seeing as he himself was part fighting-type.

Kirlia nodded happily, and just as her father had finished agreeing with her mother, a very familiar voice resounded through the cave.

"Morning Mr. Gallade! Morning Mrs. Gardevoir!" a small Riolu said as he crossed the threshold of the cave, eliciting a smile from the two older pokemon. "Hi Kirlia!"

"Good Morning Riolu," Kirlia's parents responded and greeted the powerful Blaziken that came in after Riolu in the same amicable manner.

"Riolu. Why don't you go play with Kirlia outside for a bit. I need to talk to Gardevoir and Gallade for a moment," Blaziken said as he ushered the kids outside so that he could have an important talk with Kirlia's parents. The kids obeyed, and they left the adults to their talk. However, Riolu had other things in mind. As soon as he and Kirlia had left the cave, Riolu quickly turned around.

"What are you doing?" Kirlia hissed, not wanting to get in trouble for not obeying their parents.

"Shhh I want to see what they are talking about," Riolu whispered as he spied through a small crack in the wall of the cave.

"Well I don't think we should," Kirlia protested as she folded her arms disapprovingly, "It's obvious that they don't want us listening to whatever they are talking about."

"Okay well if you don't want to find out, that's your choice," Riolu chanted, knowing that Kirlia was always naturally curious. The psychic-type 'hmmphed' and turned away in opposition. But her nature got the best of her and soon she was up against the crack of the wall right next to her partner in crime.

*Inside*

"How is the orb?" Riolu's father asked, seriousness in his voice, "I noticed some foreign pokemon the other day and they didn't seem too friendly. I was worried that they might be after the orb."

"The orb is safe for now. And yes, they were after it, but Gardevoir and I successfully defended it. They won't come looking for it again. I can assure you that," Gallade answered, understanding Blaziken's concern. But Blaziken cursed himself for not stopping those pokemon sooner.

"It's alright Blaziken. It's not your fault that they went after the Psychic Aura Orb," Gardevoir said soothingly, but Blaziken still sighed.

"I should have known though," he breathed out, shaking his head regretfully. He thanked them for keeping him updated. "I'll keep my eyes open for anymore intruders." Gardevoir and Gallade nodded appreciatively, glad that Riolu's father was always helping them in their mission.

*outside*

Riolu looked at Kirlia strangely, many questions forming in his head now.

"What's a Psychic Aura Orb?" Riolu asked Kirlia, confusion and curiosity written all over his face. Kirlia shrugged, just as confused as Riolu was. But they were both sure that whatever it was, it was something extremely important. After all, why would both of their parents go through such lengths to protect it?

* * *

A Year Later

Thunder and lighting filled the skies tonight, and Riolu watched from the small hole in the side wall of their cave as lighting and rain raced towards the ground in a deadly show of nature's true power. His mother and father were in the main room, keeping watch. Riolu's father had felt something sinister lurking around that night, and he paced madly across the floor, hoping he was completely wrong.

"What's wrong dear? You don't usually act like this during a thunderstorm," the female Lucario asked as she noticed the worry etched on her mate's face. Blaziken paused and looked straight outside of the window.

"Don't you feel it dear? This storm is not natural. Someone is making it happen, and I don't think it's for a good reason," Blaziken answered as he resumed pacing the floor. His mate was confused and was just about to ask him what he meant by that when suddenly out of nowhere a bright light materialized in the middle of the room, which they identified as a teleport light. From the teleport, Kirlia's mother materialized, but they noticed something was wrong. Cuts, burns and bruises adorned her body, and she looked like she was barely breathing.

"Gardevoir!" Riolu's mother exclaimed as she rushed forward to help her friend, "What happened to you!"

"Attack. Orb. Gallade...Help," Gardevoir coughed out weakly, as she fainted from her wounds. Blaziken's face turned grim in understanding.

"Go. I'll take care of her. Go help Gallade!" Riolu's mother said, urgency in her voice. Gallade's fate depended on her mate. Blaziken nodded and rushed out of the cave, disappearing from sight. Riolu's mother hurried to their supply of various berries, grabbing a couple of Sitrus berries and Oran berries to help Gardevoir recover. Hearing the comotion, Riolu entered the room and noticed Kirlia's mother, injured, bruised, burned and unconscious, and he panicked.

"MOM!" Riolu yelled, not seeing his mother anywhere. The female Lucario came running in, her arms full of various berries, meant to treat Gardevoir.

"Riolu! What are you doing! Being awake at this hour!" she reprimanded, as she knelt down to heal Gardevoir.

"What's going on! Where's dad?" Riolu asked, worry invading his senses. His mother paused for a moment, debating with herself whether or not she should tell her son what was truly going on. She figured that it would be better to tell him something now, seeing as he would surely find out on his own soon enough.

"Your father is going to help Kirlia's father, who is in terrible danger right now," she answered vaguely as she treated some of Gardevoir's wounds.

"I should go help him then!" Riolu answered back quickly, thinking about his father's safety.

"No! You will stay here! Stay in your room! You need to stay safe!" his mother exclaimed, absolutely not having her own son risk her life. It was bad enough for her that her mate was doing it already.

"But mom! I can help!" he protested, "I'm strong! And I can fight!"

"NO! Your father is already out there in danger. I won't have you put yourself in danger as well. What do you think he would say if you got hurt out there helping him!" his mother yelled, worry and fear enveloping her voice. She couldn't bear the thought of her son also getting hurt along with her mate. Riolu opened his mouth to protest again, but stopped as he noticed small tears collecting in his mother's eyes.

"Fine..." he murmured as he headed towards his room, the thunder and lightning still dancing across the stormy night sky. He set his elbows on his window, wishing that he could do something to help. Suddenly, he sat up straighter, his senses tingling and jumpy. He knew that there was someone out there lurking in the shadows, and he squinted trying to make out a figure in the darkness. Then a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, lighting up the area for a split second, which was all Riolu needed to see two large glowing red eyes and the back of the figure...heading straight towards Kirlia's house. Riolu began to panic. He knew that Kirlia was home alone right now, and all of their parents were too occupied trying to save each other. And that only left one option left for Riolu. Taking a quick look back towards the room his mother was in, he steeled himself and hopped out of the window into the stormy night, bent on saving his best friend.

* * *

Far off in Kirlia's cave, the small psychic-type suddenly awoke, sitting up suddenly as her senses perceived a threat. Startled, she shrieked as thunder boomed and lightning flashed across the sky. But afterward, a deathly silence hung over, and she looked around, noticing that her home was feeling strangely empty. Quietly, she tiptoed out of her room, only to find the main room trashed and completely wrecked. Feeling worried, she rushed to her parent's room, to find neither one of them there. Kirlia would have started running towards Riolu's home for help, but she stopped as she noticed a large figure approaching the cave entrance. She gasped in fright, just knowing that whoever and whatever it was would not be friendly. Looking around frantically, she ran for a place to hide, hoping that whatever was coming wouldn't find her.

* * *

In the few faint rays of the moon and the random flashes of lightning streaking across the sky, Riolu squinted once more, trying to make out who the intruder was. From what he could tell, it was floating, light blue, and, in the rare flashes of lightning, shiny. It had what looked like two arms extending downwards, with deadly metal claws at the end. Riolu racked his brain, trying to remember what species the floating pokemon was, wanting to find out what its weaknesses could be.

However, as he came up from his deep state of thought, he noticed that the perpetrator had disappeared. He felt a spike of fear stab through him, realizing that he had let it get away. Riolu rapidly spun around, trying to catch a glint of shining metal in the periodic flashes of light, but nothing came to him. Then out of nowhere, a piecing scream tore through the air, setting Riolu's hairs on end and dilating his eyes in fear... He knew that voice.

"I'm coming Kirlia!" Riolu yelled as he ran quickly towards the sound, hoping that he would make it in time.

* * *

"Go away!" Kirlia screamed as she backed against the wall. She turned away from the enormous, menacing metang threatening her, wanting it to just disappear. She had been easily found in the cave, and was now cornered with nowhere left to run.

"Where is it!" the blue metallic pokemon screeched angrily, edging closer and closer to the frightened, young psychic-type. "I know it is here! The Psychic Aura Orb!"

"I...I don't know what you're talking about!" Kirlia stammered out. The metang narrowed his eyes, trying to deduce weather or not Kirlia was telling the truth.

"Do. Not. Lie," he commanded as he smashed one of his claws into the floor, venom dropping from every monotone syllable he uttered. He advanced once more towards the small psychic-type, definitely penetrating her personal space bubble.

"I'm...I'm not!" Kirlia squeaked out nervously, pressing herself harder against the cave wall in an attempt to get further away. The metang stopped, and then slowly backed away, worrying Kirlia even more. Now instead the floating steel and psychic-type had a predatory glint in his eye, and it was looking straight at her.

"Fine," he said, "If it is not here...I'll just take you instead." Kirlia's breath hitched as she heard those dreadful words issue from his mouth, and she made a mad dash for the doorway. But an invisible force stopped her, and she knew that she was being restrained by psychic powers.

"LET ME GO!" Kirlia screamed frantically, wanting nothing more than to get away from the metang that threatened to take her.

"Hmmm I don't think so. You'd make a very nice pet," he answered darkly, slowly drawing Kirlia to him with his psychic grapple. Every passing moment, Kirlia continued screaming and struggling against her bonds, wishing that she possessed more power to break through her holds. But now she was just a couple of feet away from being captured forever and subjugated to Arceus knows what. It looked like it was all over for her.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" a sudden voice yelled as a loud clang resounded around the cave, along with a shrieking monotone voice. Kirlia was suddenly dropped onto the floor as her psychic bonds were released. She scrambled to her feet and saw her best friend, Riolu, growling angrily at a formidable metang in front of him. She noticed the large black mark on top of the metang and knew that Riolu had attacked him with his powerful Blaze Kick, easily scoring a critical hit on the previously-distracted metang.

"Oh she has a little lap dog to tend to her. Well you'll regret that you little puppy," the metang growled out, as it suffered from the super-effective attack. "I'll dispose of you and then tend to my little pet." Riolu grit his teeth, hatred and anger for the metang in front of him filling every fiber of his being.

"You won't touch her!" Riolu growled out, taking his battle stance, "You stay back Kirlia."

"But I can help!" Kirlia protested, knowing that even though Riolu had an advantage with his Blaze Kick, the metang also had psychic powers that were an enormous advantage against Riolu.

"I DON'T WANT YOU TO HELP!" Riolu yelled back, frustrated that she seemed to want to put herself in danger, "I WANT YOU SAFE! SO JUST STAY BACK SO I CAN PROTECT YOU ALREADY!" Kirlia blinked rapidly, processing what her best friend had just said. It made her feel extremely happy and extremely scared. But she trusted Riolu and obeyed.

"Okay...but please be careful," Kirlia whispered as she retreated to the corner of the cave. Riolu nodded as he returned to face his opponent.

"Oh are you two lovers done yet? It was begging to get rather interesting," the metang said viciously.

"Shut up!" Riolu yelled as he made a mad dash towards the floating steel and psychic-type, attacking again with a powerful Blaze Kick. It wouldn't work twice however, and the metang merely floated to the side, yawning in the process.

"You'll have to do better than that you little puppy," he provoked, dodging another Blaze Kick. This went on for a couple of minutes with the metang dodging Blaze Kicks and Brick Breaks from the young Riolu quite easily. Now Riolu was starting to lose energy, evident by his loss of breath and slower movement. That's when the metang went in to attack. He rushed up to the fatigued Riolu with an extremely deadly Zen Headbutt, and Kirlia screamed in horror as she watched the attack connect with the valiant fighting-type. Riolu was smashed into the cave wall as the impact sent him flying across the room, and he crumpled into a heap.

"I told you that you would regret it foolish little dog," the metang said with a sneer. He began to move towards Kirlia again, now that Riolu was out of the picture.

A sudden yell, made the metang turn around just in time to see a blazing foot heading towards his face. In a split second reaction, the metang blocked it with his arms, minimizing any damage taken. But the metang was extremely surprised. Almost no pokemon he had ever fought could recover from his Zen Headbutt. So what made this Riolu so special and strong?

"I...said...you...won't...touch...her," Riolu growled out through his gritted teeth, a new fire raging in his eyes. There was no doubt to anyone in the room however, that Riolu was on the brink of collapse. One good hit from the metang would surely result in a knock out blow. Knowing this, Riolu knew that he had to be extremely precise and quick if he wanted to come out of this alive.

"Bothersome mutt. I was content with just knocking you out. But it looks like I'll have to take more drastic measures," the floating blue psychic-type said, preparing to attack with a blast of psychic energy. The metang was sure that this attack would end it and sent the blast towards careening towards Riolu, who had no way to dodge it. The small fighting-type grimaced as he realized this, preparing for the worst. But just seconds away from impact, the attack hit some type of wall that blocked the attack and saved Riolu.

"What! A Light Screen?" the metang roared in fury, as he turned sharply to Kirlia, who was concentrating on keeping the barrier up. "You'll pay for that one. Maybe you can protect your little friend, but how about yourself!" And the enraged metang rocketed towards Kirlia, hell-bent on exacting his revenge. Riolu's eyes widened in fear as he watched the metang fly towards his best friend. He didn't know how, but he put on a miraculous burst of speed, only thinking about saving his friend, Kirlia's screams of fear torturing him in his mind. He gave a mighty leap, wanting to score a direct hit with his Blaze Kick. Instantly however, the metang turned around, grabbing Riolu's blazing leg, capturing Riolu in his metal claws.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Typical. Going in without thought, trying to play the hero. Well see where that has got you now," the metang taunted as he brought Riolu directly into his face, "Well don't worry. I'll take gooood care of your little girlfriend." Riolu didn't know what did it, but at the last statement he cracked. And with a mighty roar of anger, Riolu directed all of the energy he had left into his right paw and thrust it forward. The metang's eyes popped open as he realized that in capturing Riolu, he had left his own defenses open. The last thing the evil psychic-type saw was Riolu's paw covered in ghostly energy as the Shadow Claw smashed into his face, dealing critical damage and knocking him out. Both Riolu and the metang crashed into the floor as the steel and psychic-type's levitation disappeared. Riolu breathed out in relief and wiggled his way out of the metal claws that had just threatened to end him a minute ago, hurrying over to Kirlia who was still in the corner shaking.

"Are you okay Kirlia?" Riolu asked, putting a paw on her shoulder. He almost fell over as Kirlia wrapped him in a tight hug, tears pouring from her eyes.

"I was so scared," she whimpered out, hugging onto Riolu for dear life. Riolu rubbed her back comfortingly. "I thought he was going to..." But the mere thought of what could have happened sent Kirlia into a new fit of tears. Riolu wished that he could have done more to help, but all he could do now was assure his best friend that she was safe.

"It's alright," Riolu said, "I'm right here. And I'll always protect you...I promise."

* * *

Two years later

"Quick! We have to get out of here!" Blaziken yelled at his family, panic in his voice. All around them, the very foundations of their homes were disappearing before their eyes. For years now, they had lived in peace in the Tree of Beginning. But now, the blue crystals that helped to sustain their cave and the tree were starting to degenerate and die. If this went on, the entire tree would die, and they would all lose their homes.

"What do we do Dad!" Riolu asked as he looked to the upper levels of his home, witnessing massive chunks of the tree fall to the ground uselessly. Blaziken hesitated to answer, knowing how truly hopeless it was for them to do anything to stop the destruction.

"We can't do anything Riolu...the Tree is dying," the Blaziken said sadly as more parts of the tree gave way and broke off. Feeling helpless, all they could do was watch as their home slowly fell to ruin. Then a sudden wave of energy flashed through the tree as all of the crystals embedded in the tree became illuminated in a vibrant green light. Suddenly, everything stabalized. Riolu, his mother, and his father looked around in awe, realizing that somehow their homes had been saved from ultimate destruction.

"What happened? How did it all stop?" Riolu asked, basking in the light show all around him, amazement and wonderment filling him. But neither of his parents seemed to be paying any attention to him at that moment.

"How do you think it stopped dear? How could the energy flow be corrected?" Blaziken asked, knowing that the corruption of the Psychic Aura Orb had to be purified in order for the Tree to become well again.

"Only a pure user of Aura could ever hope to restore the balance of the Psychic Aura Orb and purify the taint in it, restoring the energy flow to Mew and the Tree...But in the process, they would have to sacrifice their own life," Riolu's mother said, understanding what had been done. She closed her eyes in respect for the brave pokemon or possible human that had just saved them all. Blaziken too bowed his head in respect, but their son was completely lost.

"What? I don't get it. What's the 'Psychic Aura Orb'?" Riolu asked, the question nagging him for years now. Suddenly, Riolu's parents finally realized that Riolu was asking them about the Psychic Aura Orb and briefly panicked, trying to find a way to avoid revealing their secret. But they sighed, realizing that there was really no way to keep it hidden anymore. Blaziken turned it over to his mate, knowing that she was the best at explaining this.

"Riolu. The Psychic Aura Orb is a special crystal filled with the power of living psychic energy." the female Lucario began, "It originated from nearly the very beginning of this world the legends say."

"What's so special about it? And what's it got to do with the tree and Mew?" Riolu questioned, extremely curious about this special orb.

"It's extremely powerful. And really, only psychic-types are able to handle it, which is why Kirlia's parents were assigned to guard it. But anyone who can command Aura would be able to handle the orb. If they are neither of these, the orb can become corrupted or it will merely reject them," Riolu's mother said with all seriousness, "All that I know is that Mew, this Tree, and the Psychic Aura Orb are connected in someway. The legendaries do not tell all of their secrets." Riolu nodded in understanding.

"What happens if it becomes corrupted?" Riolu asked, "Does something bad happen?" Riolu's mother nodded gravely.

"If the orb became corrupted. The energy itself would become corrupted. This would slowly corrupt all of the world's psychic-type's and any pokemon with access to psychic power. Also any pokemon that came into direct contact with the corrupted orb would absorb some of the corruption in it. Kirlia's parents, your father and I protect the orb from any pokemon or human that would wish to use it for their own evil purposes. (2)" she answered, telling all that she knew about the orb, "However, your father cannot even touch it because of his fighting-type nature. But you may be able to someday dear." Riolu cocked his head in confusion at his mother's statement.

"Why will I be able to touch it when dad can't?" he asked, quickly. In his mind, it was quite hard to believe that he would be able to do something that his own father couldn't. Riolu's mother smiled, understanding his amazement, and Riolu's father chuckled.

"I can't do everything son," he said with a smile, "You will be able to touch and handle it because you are a Riolu, soon to be a Lucario, the pokemon of Aura."

"Once you master your own Aura, you'll be able to help protect the jewel and others around you. Until then, don't touch it because it will reject you, possibly hurting you, because of your fighting-type energy." Riolu's mother added, hoping that they had explained the mysteries of the orb to their curious son adequately.

"There's something else I don't get mom," Riolu said, "What's the difference between Aura and Psychic powers? They both seem almost the same." The female Lucario paused and thought about it for a moment, trying to discern the true boundaries between the two types of powers.

"Psychic powers are a result of the mind, able to manipulate objects and even the minds of others. And it is reliant on the user's mental strength. On the other hand, Aura is like an extension of your own spirit or soul. It can therefore be used to find others through their very own spirit that emanates in the form of Aura. Also, Aura changes with the user as they experience things throughout their life," she answered to the best of her abilities, "It is much more common to be able to find a psychic than it is to be able to find an Aura user, because Aura requires purity of spirit, whereas psychic requires the determination of the mind." Riolu nodded, now understanding the fine line that separated the two.

Briefly, he wondered what kind of power would result if somehow those two powers were joined and synchronized. But he doubted that he would ever find out and instead decided to go visit Kirlia to tell her of his new information.

* * *

Two and a half weeks earlier from present time

Riolu ran as fast as he could through one of the many tunnels of his home, ducking as small chunks of the cave fell around him from the various explosions and quakes ripping through the main core of the tree. He knew that both of his parents would be there and increased his speed. Riolu quickly took a left, knowing that it would take him to his goal, and as he entered the core of the tree, he saw what his parents and Kirlia's were up against. With a ferocious roar he smashed his way through the intruders, making his way towards his parents.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE RIOLU!" Blaziken roared as he parried an oncoming attack and returned it with a powerful Fire Punch. Riolu ignored his father's question and smashed his Shadow Claw into one of the enemy pokemon, saving Kirlia's mother from being struck.

"Helping!" Riolu yelled as he took his place among his parents.

"You shouldn't be here Riolu. It's dangerous! Go find Kirlia and protect her," Gallade said as he sliced away with the blades on his arms. But as soon as he said this, Kirlia popped out from one of the tunnels, blasting away with her Psychic attacks. "KIRLIA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!"

"Whatever Riolu said," Kirlia responded knowingly as she rushed through the crowd to join her parents.

"Go while you two still can!" Riolu's mother yelled, sending Aura Sphere after Aura Sphere attacks to fend off the unusual amount of rampaging pokemon, all headed towards the core. It had all started when Riolu's mother had felt a strange wave of energy pass over her. She had quickly alerted her mate who alerted Kirlia's parents as soon as he could. They had then journeyed to the center of the tree to find violent and unreasonable pokemon about to attack. They had quickly intervened, and now here they were trying to defend the core of the tree from the mob of pokemon.

"No! We are going to help! We aren't going to stand here and watch our parents get hurt and attacked and do nothing about it!" Riolu yelled, dodging an attack from one of the pokemon in the crowd just in time. Riolu's mother didn't respond, unable to come up with an answer for her son. But it wouldn't matter soon, because they were quickly becoming overrun by the sheer amount of renegade pokemon facing them.

"If this keeps up! They are going to tear down the whole inner core of the tree and then the orb will be in danger!" Blaziken said backing up from the line of progressing attackers. Things were not looking good for them, and every passing moment just continued to look bleaker and bleaker. Soon, they were all backed up against the rocks of the main core now, outnumbered almost five to one.

"What do we do!" Kirlia shouted as she pressed herself against the warm rocks that surrounded the pillar of energy behind her. Struggling under the barrage of attacks, the adults could not offer any solution.

Suddenly, a blast of pink energy radiated from the tree's inner core and threw back all of the rampaging pokemon, knocking many of them out. The defenders looked up to see a small pink creature floating above them with a matching pink orb in her hands.

"Mew! Thank goodness you got here just in time," Gardevoir breathed out in relief, "We need to get the orb away from here for now. It's not safe here." Mew nodded and slowly floated down to the group of pokemon, depositing the orb into Kirlia's hands.

"Wait! What are you doing Mew!" Gallade asked, wide-eyed. He was not about to let his only daughter protect the orb herself.

"I'm protecting it," Mew said simply and then turned towards Kirlia who happened to be standing right next to Riolu, "Look for the Chosen One. The Psychic Aura Orb will be safe with him."

"Wait! You can't just send her by herself! I won't allow it!" Gallade yelled adamantly. His mate agreed with him, worried about her daughter.

"She won't be going alone. He will be going with her," Mew said simply as she floated back a few spaces, pointing to Riolu.

"Wait! What!" Riolu's mother yelled, "You can't! They are just kids!" Gardevoir wholeheartedly agreed with her.

"They must. It's their destiny. You cannot hold them here forever," Mew said simply. But Riolu's mother could really care less about destiny.

She rushed forward to grab her child and prevent him from leaving, but a strong grip on her left arm, stopped her. She turned to yell at whoever was holding her back, but stopped as her eyes met the red of her own mate's eyes. Blaziken nodded, a sad smile on his face.

"It's time. They have to go," he said simply. The female Lucario blinked rapidly for a few moments, and then suddenly threw herself into her mate's arms, tears flowing down her face. "Go ahead. One last time." She nodded and rushed to her son, enveloping him in a tight hug.

"Please...Please be careful out there dear. I don't want you to get hurt," his mother begged as she held her son for possibly the last time. Riolu nodded, a small smile of reassurance on his face. Kirlia was going through the same thing at the moment, saying her goodbyes to her parents. Blaziken slowly walked up to Riolu, with a smile.

"I guess this is it son," he said slowly, kneeling down to his son's eye level, "I know that you will take care of yourself and of Kirlia. Make sure of that. Remember, never forget who you are. It will serve you well out there. Be careful and stay safe." Blaziken said solemnly. Riolu nodded, and after a moment's pause, gave his father a tearful hug.

"Time to go now," Mew said, "If the orb stays here any longer, the corruption will not be fixed. You must get it to the Chosen One as soon as possible." Riolu nodded and stepped back to Kirlia's side. "I should be able to put you close to him, so it shouldn't be hard to find him. You will know him when you see him." They nodded. Mew closed her eyes as she called upon her formidable psychic powers. A bright pink ring began to form around Kirlia and Riolu, and the energy stretched into a small pink dome, encasing the two small pokemon inside.

The adults watched tearfully as they let their children go, knowing that they would be fine.

"Here we go!" Mew said, her eyes flashing brighter. And with one last wave, Kirlia and Riolu were gone.

* * *

Back to the present time

Suddenly, Ash was thrown back into the real realm, his mind fuzzy and his vision blurred. It took a couple of minutes, but eventually, his senses came back to him. He tried to remember what he was doing this far out in the middle of the field and then recalled that he and everyone else had gone into Kirlia's and Riolu's memories. He shook his head, trying to get rid of that strange detached feeling in his mind. He got off of the ground, noticing that he had become a human again somehow. He was puzzled as to why, but he decided to ponder that question later. Ash quickly looked up to the sky to find it nearly sunset and was alarmed by the amount of time that had passed. Suddenly, a small groan drew his attention, and he turned to find Latias as a human, lying on the ground. He hurried over to her, wanting to make sure she was alright.

"Latias," he said, "You alright?" He gently shook her awake, and soon the beautiful human opened her eyes, a bit confused.

"Wha...what happened? The last thing I remember is watching Mew teleport Kirlia and Riolu," she said strangely, recalling the memories that they had witnessed.

"The memories ended, but it looks like that after viewing so many, our bodies passed out from the mental strain," Ash answered with his best guess. He quickly moved to wake the rest of his friends up. And after about fifth-teen minutes, he was finally able to wake everyone up.

"Woah!" Dawn said rubbing her eyes, "I just had the craziest dream. I swear that I was in this strange place with all these blue crystals, and there were all these crazy pokemon attacking. Then there was this metang and Mew. Then there was...ugh." Dawn rubbed her head tiredly, clearly still frazzled.

"Don't worry about it right now Dawn," Ash said, placing a hand on her shoulder, telling her to just rest. Dawn nodded and decided to just lay down for a moment.

"Let's not do that again please," Riolu said, shaking his head back and forth, trying to clear his head. He decided that he really didn't enjoy people poking around in his memories, much less his quite personal memories. Slowly, he rose to his feat and yawned, realizing that he was quite tired now.

"Yeah...My head's still spinning," Kirlia agreed, shaking a bit as she attempted to get up. She faltered in her stance, and waved her arms around wildly, trying to regain her balance. But she calmed as she felt a paw steady her balance from behind, turning to smile gratefully at her best friend. Riolu nodded, letting his paw fall from Kirlia's waist, confident that she was okay now.

"We should head back to the house. We can talk more there. There's a lot to go over," Ash said, realizing that there wasn't much time left in the day to stay outside. They nodded, all getting up. They all really hoped that the day's surprises were over, because they weren't sure if any of them could handle any more. Meanwhile, Ash decided to take the time to ask a bit about what he saw from Kirlia and Riolu's memories.

"So you two are both from the Tree of Beginning?" Ash questioned, extremely interested.

"Yeah. We were both born there," Riolu answered absentmindedly as he walked towards the house.

"We've been there before," Pikachu said, "Mew actually poke-napped me and nursed me back to health there."

"Really!" Kirlia exclaimed, "You know Mew?"

"Actually we know almost all of the legendaries. I think Ash has like a legendary pokemon magnet, because he meets one almost every other day. And usually it has to do with saving the world or something. And how many times has it been now? The third? The fifth?(3) I lost count after we had to fight Arceus and go back to the past to change the present," Pikachu said absentmindedly, "Mew is one of the more familiar legendaries we know though." Riolu and Kirlia stared at Pikachu like he was crazy, looking towards Ash for any words about Pikachu's statement.

"Yea. Now that I think about it, we have met Mew a couple of times," Ash commented, "I remember when Mew took you to the Tree of Beginning, and I went crazy trying to find you. I'm lucky I had Lucario to help me back then," Ash said, growing quiet as he remembered his lost friend.

"A Lucario?" Riolu asked, "Did you use to own a Lucario?" Ash shook his head.

"He was just a friend. But I'll never forget him. He sacrificed himself to save the Tree, Mew and everyone else," Ash said as he stared off into the distance, thinking about Lucario's sacrifice. Riolu quieted, realizing that this same Lucario must have been the one who saved his home those many years ago and bowed his head in respect.

A silence quickly settled over them as the golden sun began to set behind them. Soon, Ash's house came within eyesight, causing a warm smile to spread across all of their faces. Now they could all look forward to a restful normal evening...or so they thought.

Ash squinted as he got closer to his home, seeing two strange figures being led to his house by Bulbasaur. One of them was about human height with a large tail, and it stood on two legs like a man. The other pink figure who was significantly smaller, floated and bounced in the air energetically, doing flips and twists in the air periodically. Ash guessed mentally who they could be but didn't say anything, deciding that he could be wrong. But as they came within a few meters of the house, Ash knew that he had been correct. There standing and floating in front of his house was Mewtwo and Mew, and it looked like that they had been waiting for him.

'Well hello again Ash,' Mewtwo telepathically said with a small smile as Mew did a couple flips of happiness, easily recognizing the trainer. 'It's been a long time.'

* * *

(1) From what I've seen. I'm calling Mamoswine's hidden power a water-type move, which is why it was able to fuse easily into the Ice Shard Bomb.

(2) As much as I like to stick to the idea that "No Pokemon Is Evil" I honestly think that that wouldn't happen in the world as a whole. They are sentient beings after all.

(3) How many times has Ash saved the world? There are a couple of them in the anime series as well, so I have no clue really.

Phew. It took me a long time to write this chapter out due to both size and time. Once again I apologize for the lateness. But as school is now fully in session, I will not be able to update as quickly as I did during the summer.

Anyways. Now you know where Riolu and Kirlia came from and what that pink orb was. This should give you a pretty good idea of where I'm now headed. The history of the orbs and such is coming next, along with further explanations of them such as the legends and what they do. So don't ask too many questions, because they will all be answered in the next chappie, which hopefully won't take as long as this one!

Thank you so much for reading and please review!

-Mekon


	16. Ch15: An Ancient Past Part 2

**DISCLAIMER**

Ownership is to pokemon as Ash is to perceiving and insightful to girls.

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

_"Actually we know almost all of the legendaries. I think Ash has like a legendary pokemon magnet, because he meets one almost every other day. And usually it has to do with saving the world or something. And how many times has it been now? The third? The fifth?(3) I lost count after we had to fight Arceus and go back to the past to change the present," Pikachu said absentmindedly, "Mew is one of the more familiar legendaries we know though." Riolu and Kirlia stared at Pikachu like he was crazy, looking towards Ash for any words about Pikachu's statement._

_"Yea. Now that I think about it, we have met Mew a couple of times," Ash commented, "I remember when Mew took you to the Tree of Beginning, and I went crazy trying to find you. I'm lucky I had Lucario to help me back then," Ash said, growing quiet as he remembered his lost friend._

_"A Lucario?" Riolu asked, "Did you use to own a Lucario?" Ash shook his head._

_"He was just a friend. But I'll never forget him. He sacrificed himself to save the Tree, Mew and everyone else," Ash said as he stared off into the distance, thinking about Lucario's sacrifice. Riolu quieted, realizing that this same Lucario must have been the one who saved his home those many years ago and bowed his head in respect._

_A silence quickly settled over them as the golden sun began to set behind them. Soon, Ash's house came within eyesight, causing a warm smile to spread across all of their faces. Now they could all look forward to a restful normal evening...or so they thought._

_Ash squinted as he got closer to his home, seeing two strange figures being led to his house by Bulbasaur. One of them was about human height with a large tail, and it stood on two legs like a man. The other pink figure who was significantly smaller, floated and bounced in the air energetically, doing flips and twists in the air periodically. Ash guessed mentally who they could be but didn't say anything, deciding that he could be wrong. But as they came within a few meters of the house, Ash knew that he had been correct. There standing and floating in front of his house was Mewtwo and Mew, and it looked like that they had been waiting for him._

_'Well hello again Ash,' Mewtwo telepathically said with a small smile as Mew did a couple flips of happiness, easily recognizing the trainer. 'It's been a long time.'_

* * *

Ch15: An Ancient Past Part 2

Ash stopped dead in his tracks as he laid his eyes upon the two legendaries. He blinked rapidly, trying to determine if what he saw in front of him was real. And after a moment, he realized that he really wasn't just seeing things. The real problem was that he didn't have a clue as to how to react.

"Uhhhhh hi," Ash said slowly, not able to come up with another response to the sudden appearance of Mew and Mewtwo at his doorstep, causing Mewtwo to lightly smile.

'I can see that you were not expecting us,' he said jokingly, snapping Ash out of his bewilderment, finding it strangely awakening that Mewtwo had made a joke.

"Haha yeah," Ash said with a small laugh as he placed his hand behind his head in embarrassment, "I was really only expecting my friends, Misty and Brock, to be coming." Mewtwo nodded in understanding, easily recalling who the two teens were.

'Speaking of them. Where is the temperate red-head and the eye-less one?" Mewtwo asked, noticing their absence at Ash's side. Ash chuckled heartily at Mewtwo's description of his friends.

"Misty and Brock are both at their homes visiting their families. They should be back by tomorrow afternoon though," Ash answered.

"Hey! I want to say hi too!" Mew randomly interjected as she began to fly rapidly around Ash. Ash smiled, remembering Mew's very hyper-active moods and movements.

"It's good to see you too Mew," Ash answered, causing her to do more flips in the air. Mewtwo shook his head and sighed. Luckily, Mew had begun talking to Pikachu, giving Mewtwo a moment to continue speaking to Ash. However, he noticed two unfamiliar females behind Ash. One had dark blue hair and looked extremely amazed. The other had long brunette hair with strangely familiar hair spikes, and she smiled at him.

"Hmmmm You have yet to introduce me to your new female companions Ash," Mewtwo said wishing to learn their identities.

"Oh right!" Ash exclaimed, "This is Dawn. She's a pokemon coordinator from Sinnoh." He lightly nudged the still stunned pokemon coordinator forward. Mewtwo greeted her cordially, commenting on the fact that she seemed to be a long way from home. She shook her head quickly, trying to get a hold of herself.

"Yeah. But it's worth it. Plus there are a lot of things to do here in Kanto," Dawn said cheerfully, returning back to her usual state.

'Indeed,' Mewtwo answered, now waiting for the introduction of the other girl. He didn't know why, but there was something very familiar about her.

"Oh and well you already know who this is probably," Ash said as he motioned for Latias to move forward. Mewtwo looked at him strangely, not knowing why Ash would assume that he knew this girl.

'In what way could I have met this girl?' Mewtwo questioned, confusion written on his face, 'Although, if I had to hazard a guess. I would say she is to be your intended?' Instantly, color flooded Latias' and Ash's faces, causing Dawn to giggle and Pikachu to roll around on the floor laughing hysterically. Ash was about to respond to Mewtwo's statement, but Dawn beat him to it.

"Oh you should have seen them last night! It was so cute! They were both cuddled up underneath the same blanket, sleeping together and everything!" Dawn exclaimed, clapping her hands together as she swooned by just remembering the scene. Ash didn't know it was possible, but his face became even hotter and redder than before. He took a peek at Latias only to find her looking back at him, and they both turned away suddenly from sheer humiliation. Ash wasn't sure which was more embarrassing: the fact that last night's events were no secret to anyone or the fact that they were being repeated to two legendary pokemon right in front of him. And the worst part was that he really couldn't deny it because Dawn was telling the truth. Mewtwo lightly chuckled to himself, noticing the easily detectable blush on both Ash's and the girl's face. However, he still wanted to know who this special girl was.

'So are you going to introduce me to your intended or not Ash?' Mewtwo asked, a small smirk present on his face. Ash wished he could just stuff his head into the ground and disappear, but there was just no escape for him.

"Ummm this is Latias...and uh she's not my intended," Ash mumbled out, much of his words coming out as a stutter. Mewtwo quickly raised his brow in surprise at the name mentioned.

'You do not mean Latias, as in the legendary eon dragon do you? She is merely named after her?' Mewtwo questioned, staring hard at Ash and this girl supposedly name "Latias".

"Uhhh...no. I mean that it's really Latias," Ash stated plainly, and Latias nodded in agreement.

'It's really me Mewtwo,' Latias answered telepathically, causing Mewtwo to visibly jump at the sudden voice inside of his head. He turned towards Latias and stared at her as if trying to discern if she truly was who she claimed to be.

"I thought that Latias was a pokemon," Mewtwo answered, not having ever met the legendary eon dragon before, "From what Arceus described, you are supposed to be mainly red and white with large wings and claws." Ash nodded towards Latias, giving her the signal. Mewtwo watched curiously as a flash of light engulfed the girl, covering her entire form. After just a couple moments, Latias revealed her true from, stunning Mewtwo completely.

Mew wasn't all that surprised at all, however, and instead flew up to Latias and began conversing with the eon dragon. Mew had met Latias before and already knew about her shape-shifting abilities. So, Latias' sudden transformation did not surprise her at all.

"You look great Latias," Mew said as she hovered around the, now floating, dragon, "And the new human for is really, really pretty." Latias giggled, and thanked Mew for her compliments.

"You look great too Mew," Latias responded with a smile, drawing a cute giggle from Mew as she flew around in circles happily.

"Thanks!" Mew said, "So what are you doing with Ash hmmm? From what I saw, it seemed like something pretty serious." Latias blushed looking away from Mew quickly, drawing another round of giggles form the ever bouncy and happy Mew.

'I'll tell you later,' Latias answered solely to Mew, drawing a quick nod from the pink psychic-type.

'I'll hold you to that!' Mew said back with a wink as she returned to floating next to Mewtwo. Mewtwo watched the exchange with interest, realizing that Mew had clearly met Latias before. He had just wished that Mew had told him that Latias was a shape-shifter. But they would have time to catch up later; he needed to talk to Ash now.

"Are there any other secrets we should know about?" Mewtwo quickly asked as a small joke, not realizing what he was about to discover. Luckily, Pikachu was able to sum it all up in one short and sweet sentence.

"Oh... other than the fact that Ash is now a legendary pokemon, there's nothing much really," Pikachu remarked, grinning as he watched disbelief spread across both Mew and Mewtwo's faces.

"What did you say?" Mewtwo asked slowly, not quite sure he heard the electric mouse pokemon correctly.

"Uhhhh Ash is now a legendary Pokemon? There's also the fact that he can understand poke-speech perfectly and now has psychic powers," Pikachu answered as if it were an every day occurrence. If Mewtwo had been surprised and stunned before, he was surely flabbergasted by now along with Mew. They quickly looked towards Ash for a response.

"What does he mean by you're a 'legendary Pokemon, and you now have 'psychic powers'?" Mewtwo asked quickly. Ash sighed, knowing that a retelling of his remarkable story was just around the corner.

"Just watch," Ash answered as he closed his eyes, focusing on the inner power he held within his human form, letting it surge throughout his body. Mewtwo and Mew watched with fascination as a light, almost identical to the light given off during Latias' transformation, enveloped Ash. As the light faded away, it slowly revealed a new figure in place of where Ash used to be. Mew and Mewtwo, for the first time, laid their eyes upon what appeared to be a Black Latios. And they stared, amazed by what they just witnessed. Mew was the first to speak.

"Oooo!" Mew gushed as she flew around rapidly, analyzing the strange new form, "Your coloring is so unique!...Hmm, I wonder if I can transform into your form!" Promptly, Mew began to attempt transforming into Ash's new form causing Ash to sweatdrop from her apparent oblivious nature of realizing what was really important.

"Fascinating," Mewtwo said as he looked over Ash's new appearance, "How did you become a Latios?" Mewtwo knew that the boy loved pokemon very much, but the fact that he had become one himself was quite astounding.

"Uh...Just stay still for a second," Ash said, his eyes starting to glow blue. He slowly spread out his psych to Mew and Mewtwo, but for some reason, he just couldn't link with them. Mewtwo chuckled lowly.

"Ash, we are legendary Psychic-type pokemon of otherworldly power. You'll need much more training to learn how to link with us," Mewtwo stated, easily recognizing what Ash attempted to do. He didn't know what he meant to accomplish by it however.

"Darn," Ash muttered, not really looking forward to retelling his story by mouth.

"What did you mean to accomplish by a mental link anyway?" Mew asked curiously as she cocked her head to one side, deciding to give up on transforming into Ash at the moment. She too found it curious that Ash would attempt an mental link with her and Mewtwo.

"Memory Projection. It lets me show you my memories using the mental link...I wanted to use it to tell my story, because I don't really want to 'literally' tell my story again," Ash groaned out, disappointed that he couldn't show his memories to Mew and Mewtwo.

"Hmm that's a shame. I would have loved to experience it. This memory projection you speak of sounds very interesting," Mewtwo answered, "But anyways, could you tell us how you became a Latios now? We must relay it to the others and Arceus." Ash nodded and prepared to start his story when Kirlia and Riolu decided to interrupt. They had been waiting patiently for their moment to speak and stepped forward. Mew, just now noticing them, easily recognized the small pokemon.

"Hello," Kirlia squeaked out, somewhat intimidated by Mewtwo's presence. Mew giggled a bit, knowing why Kirlia was being so shy.

"Oh don't worry about MewMew," Mew said with a laugh, eliciting a frown from Mewtwo upon the utterance of Mew's nickname for him. "He's not dangerous at all." Kirlia laughed, and Riolu chuckled at the face Mewtwo was making which clearly indicated that he disapproved of what Mew called him and said about him.

"How have you been Mew?" Riolu asked as he stepped forward, "Is the tree safe? Are our parents safe?" Mew nodded quickly.

"Everything's fine. They are a bit run down from the battle still, but nonetheless they are okay," Mew responded, drawing breaths of relief from Kirlia and Riolu, "Now... How is the orb? I don't see it right now, but I can feel it still."

"The orb is safe. Ash somehow absorbed it when he picked it up," Kirlia responded, drawing satisfaction from Mew, "Can we go back? Like home?" Mew sighed and looked straight up into the sky as if looking for an answer to Kirlia's question. She knew they wouldn't like what she was about to say.

"No. You must stay here with Ash. He will need your help in the near future," Mew answered, causing the two pokemon to frown. They thought that their mission had been completed and was now over.

"Well. Why not?" Kirlia asked, slight anger hidden in her voice. She really missed her parents.

"You can't, "Mew answered, "If you leave now, he will surely fail in his quest. And in turn you will doom the planet to corruption." They quieted, the thought of the end of the world sealing their arguments away. Ash, however, who had been listening to their conversation stepped in.

"If you guys really want to go home, you can. I don't want to keep you from your parents. I'm pretty sure I could handle whatever this quest thing Mew is talking about," Ash said to them, wondering what this quest was too, however, "I'd even take you guys there if you wanted. I've been there before." He would be sad to see them go though. They had grown on them over the short period of time that they had spent together. Latias too felt sad that they might have to go.

Kirlia and Riolu looked away guiltily. They really did want to see their parents again, but they also didn't want to abandon Ash.

"Just know this. If you do leave Ash. The world will be plunged into darkness, and all things good will be wiped from this world," Mew said cryptically, causing Kirlia and Riolu to sigh. It was obvious what was the good thing to do was, but they knew it would be hard. But they looked at each other, knowing that they could get through it together.

"We'll stay. But only because Ash needs us," Riolu answered, drawing a smile and thank you from Ash. Mew and Mewtwo nodded in approval, glad that they had decided to stay and help Ash. But Latias quickly interrupted them, catching something that Ash had clearly forgotten to ask about.

"Wait...What's this mission that Ash has to go on?" Latias asked curiously, causing Mew and Mewtwo to grimace at being the bearer of bad news.

"It's about the Orbs of Aura. One has been corrupted..." Mewtwo said gravely. Ash and Latias didn't quite understand what Mewtwo meant by that, but they figured that it was bad. Kirlia and Riolu, however, truly understood the gravity of the situation, and their faces turned grim.

"I think that Ash and Latias don't know what the Aura Orbs are MewMew," Mew said easily recognizing the confused looks. Latias didn't know much about the orbs because none of the legendaries had ever mentioned them to her, and in the long span of time, she was really quite young. So far all of the information they had gathered about the orbs was from Kirlia's and Riolu's memories.

"Hmm perhaps you are correct Mew," Mewtwo said, "If they are to truly understand their mission. We must tell them about the orbs and their history." Mew nodded in agreement. Mewtwo slowly rose on of his hands and focused his psychic power, reaching out to Ash and Latias.

"Just relax. My Hypnosis will allow you to see the vision that I shall send you about what I have learned and discovered from Arceus himself about the Orbs of Aura," Mewtwo said, as small waves of psychic energy began to wash over them. Slowly their eyes all drooped as sleep overtook them, and the last thing they saw were the glowing blue eyes of Mewtwo as his vision and voice rushed into their dreams.

* * *

In the beginning of time...

Arceus, the first, the creator, the original, the master, born from the womb of chaos and disorder itself, came into this world, creating space, time, matter and anti-mater in the form of his first three sons, Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina. And with them, the universe fell into order and sense. However, the Father saw no life, no emotion, no sentience in any of his sons, so he created the three essences of life, will, emotion and knowledge, giving birth to Azelf, Mespirit and Uxie, their powers filling any creature that would come into being from that point on. But now, he realized that he would need to be able to keep track of all the pokemon he would ever create, and so from this thought, Mew was born, his first daughter, the new species pokemon who would be able to keep all possible genes within her, allowing him to remember and re-create.

Now Arceus looked around at his small family and lamented the fact that there was not a single place for them to live. At that moment, he, along with Palkia, rearranged the chaos into matter and created planets, stars, and all of literal space from the smallest meteor to the largest pulsar star and created Deoxys and Jirachi to guard and patrol the galaxy. Reviewing his handiwork, Arceus chose a small, peaceful planet with an abundance of water and minerals, deeming it satisfactory for their temporary stay. After a moment, he named it Earth.

After moving to their new home, Arceus surveyed the world, deciding that appropriate guardians must be created to maintain the balance and peace of such a pure place. So he created, Groudon, guardian of land, Kyogre, guardian of the seas, and Rayquaza, lord of the skies. From there, Arceus created the legendary golems that would assist Groudon in managing his lands, Regice, Registeel, Regirock and Regigigas. Also during the creation of the world, Heatran was called into existence, heating the land and making it habitable for all of Arceus' children. And for Kyogre in turn, He created Manaphy, Lugia, the first Latios and Latias to move the seas and keep the world in balance.

Looking up into the skies, Arceus knew that Rayquaza alone would not be able to control its vastness and created Ho-oh and the three legendary birds, Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno. Ho-oh, many centuries later created the three legendary beasts, allowing them free roam to the world, correcting it as they pleased.

Soon, Arceus decided that a more direct natural force must be present to maintain the beauty and tranquility of this world and created Celebi and the Shaymin, charging them with the duty of protecting and purifying the world by keeping the natural beauty alive.

And on the first night of his residence as the sun fell, he realized that the night would bring chaos to the world and created Cressalia and Darkai to guard the night and maintain the cycle.

But as the next morning came, he felt sad that there were so few present in this world to admire his blessings and deeds. So with much effort he created every single species of pokemon and the first humans, allowing them to enjoy his creation and bask in the wonders around them.

But calamity and chaos struck this world, as meteors and sky fell upon this little haven. Threatening to erase all that Arceus had done. With as much power as he had left, Arceus gallantly dove into the spray, defending his work with vigor and passion. However, having used so much of his strength, Arceus paid a dear price for defending the world he had created, his own life and the loss of his life plates.

Down below, the world watched in horror as the Creator smashed into the icy lands near present-day Michina, fearing the worst had befallen the Father. But Damos, a nearby chief and leader of the people living at Michina was able to return one of the life plates, restoring enough energy for Arceus to call his remaining life plates and gain strength again, saving his life.

Damos, leader of the nearby tribes, returned to his lands, only to find them scarred and destroyed by the cataclysm that had just been nearly avoided. Overcome with pity, Arceus granted Damos six of his life plates, culminating them into the Jewel of Life, containing the power of earth, fire, grass, water, electricity and dragon. Vowing to return it, Damos thanked Arceus wholeheartedly and pledged his life to restoring the lands. Arceus having, suffered much injury left to recover.

Many years later upon his return, he discovered that one of the humans had betrayed Damos and had planned to kill him. But due to the help of a group of strangers from the future and Damos, Arceus was able to retrieve his Jewel and restore his life energy, and was now well enough to leave this world in peace.

But Arceus, upon his leaving, noticed that an imbalance of power now existed in this world because of the strong influences of the Jewel Of Life. Knowing that such a strong imbalance would upset the world's peace and tranquility, Arceus, with much effort, took one shard out of every single life plate he possessed. Each of these shards were made of his own pure Aura infused with the element that they had been taken from. These seventeen shards became the Seventeen Sacred Orbs of Aura. After their creation, Arceus distributed them throughout the world to correct the imbalance of power, trusting them to his sons, daughters and some prominent tribes of pokemon whom he trusted greatly to guard and protect his Aura Orbs. Satisfied, Arceus left this world, intent on returning for these Aura Orbs once he awoke from his great sleep with enough strength to live in the haven he had created...

* * *

As soon as the vision ended, Ash and his friends immediately awoke, the dream fresh and clear in their minds.

"Do you know why I showed you that vision?" Mewtwo asked, drawing a head shake from all of them.

"The Orbs of Aura, after their creation, became a focal point for all pokemon powers in the world. Their immense power spread over the world, cultivating pokemon and people together," Mewtwo said, "Over the years many new species have come into existence, and humans too have drawn from the Aura Orbs. This is how human psychics have gained their power. There are even rarer few that have gained access to the skill of Aura."

"I have that," Ash said, amazed by the origins of his own power.

"Yes. And now that you are also part pokemon, you have gained access to the Psychic and Dragon Aura Orbs and almost any other elemental orb associated with your species," Mewtwo said, "however, there is a new problem."

"What is it?" Latias asked quickly, recognizing the seriousness of their next words.

"The Seventeen Sacred Aura Orbs are made of pure Aura infused with their elements. But this Aura is Father's, and He is therefore deeply connected," Mew answered, "When he entrusted the orbs to his children, they all had a certain degree of Aura control. He trusted them to use this power to keep the orbs pure and whole. But... if an orb became corrupted..."

"Pokemon all over the world with access to that type would become corrupt and evil in turn," Mewtwo finished, "And that is where our problem begins." Suddenly, the tension in the air tightened, the gravity of the situation starting to be made clear.

"What do you mean exactly?" Ash asked, hoping what he guessed was wrong.

"A couple of weeks ago, a disturbance in the balance of power rippled through the world, alerting us to the possibility of our biggest fears being realized," Mew said, "A few days ago, Father called us to him and talked to us through the void, telling us that one of his orbs had been corrupted and being used for evil purposes. When he told us this, it was already easy to tell that the corruption was starting to spread to Father himself." Ash and his friends were aghast, imagining how horrible it would be if Arceus was completely corrupted.

"He mentioned only one person in the world who would be able to restore balance and purify the orb," Mewtwo said, staring directly at Ash. Mew too turned to the Black Latios in front of her, cocking her head to one side in conjunction with her staring. Ash took a second to register the looks on their faces, but he had seen it enough times now to understand what they were trying to say.

"Me? Why me?" Ash asked incredulously, "What can I do?"

"Oh c'mon Ash you've saved the world a bunch of times already and you're obviously the Chosen One," Pikachu said rolling his eyes.

"Yeah but this is a whole different story. I don't even know how to use my Aura. I barely know how to use my new powers. How am I supposed to locate this lost orb, purify it, save the world, restore balance and save Arceus all at once!" Ash exclaimed, clearly intimidated by such a momentous task.

"You don't have to do it alone Ash," Latias said with a smile as she grabbed one of Ash's claws with her own, "We'll be right here next to you." Ash smiled appreciatively, glad that he really did have friends who would support him until the end.

"And you'll need them, for your task is no small feat," Mewtwo said, deciding not to comment on the interactions between Latias and Ash, "To purify the orb..."

"Wait wait wait," Riolu interrupted, "You haven't even told us which orb has been corrupted yet." Mewtwo closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"The orb that has been corrupted was a very important orb, especially to Arceus. The corruption of his base state leaves him weak and unable to intervene himself," Mewtwo answered, "The orb, now corrupted, is the Normal Aura Orb (1), the first elemental type to ever come into existence which is why it has dealt such a severe blow to Arceus. Even now, he assumes a fighting-type state to combat the strong corruption that is slowly defiling him."

"That's horrible," Latias said, feeling sad for Arceus. She wished that she had been to the last meeting to see him again. It had been such a long time since his last visit.

"Wait! What will happen to our pokemon and everyone else's?" Ash asked, worried that he would have to face an evil version of his own pokemon.

"Your pokemon will be fine. They are near you and your ability to purify will purify them in turn," Mewtwo said, relieving some stress from Ash.

"But what about everyone else's?" Latias asked, drawing a frown from Mewtwo.

"The nature of Aura is much different from Psychic. Though there are many similarities in their powers, the way they are formed is much different. Psychic is the cultivation of the mind. Aura, from my understanding, is the cultivation of one's self and all of the experiences you have ever had," Mewtwo said, "Thus, pokemon owned and trained by people will be much more resistant to this corruption. Some may even be able to stave off the corruption should the connection between it and it's trainer be strong enough. But other than that, wild pokemon, and some weak and unloved domestic will succumb to the ever growing corruption, especially if an orb of their element is corrupted." The whole situation seemed so bleak to Ash and his friends.

"Truly however," Mew said, "Purity will overcome corruption at best. So most pokemon that are owned by people will be saved by this evil. Arceus is only in danger because he is directly connected. Your true concern should be the weaker wild pokemon, though not all wild pokemon will succumb either, and the evil pokemon and people out there." They all sighed with relief, glad that all of their friend's pokemon wouldn't suddenly turn evil and attack those that they knew.

"So what do we do now?" Kirlia asked, wanting the two legendaries to restate and clarify what their task was.

"Ash must gather all the Aura Orbs, Ash, and purify them with his Aura. Along the way, he must learn to master his own Aura and powers because with this rise in corruption, there will be much more evil lurking in this world. Once this task is complete, he must wait for Arceus' return and give him the completed Aura Orb, finally assuring tranquility for this world." Mewtwo said. Pikachu had another question however.

"Hold on Mewtwo. Why does Ash have to gather all! of the orbs? Couldn't he just purify the Normal-Aura Orb and be done with it?" Pikachu asked, confused as to why the task set for his best friend seemed to be harder than it should be.

"Alas. If only it were that easy. You must recall the fact that the orbs are broken pieces of Arceus' Aura. This creates a link between all of them and therefore, if one is corrupted, the others will slowly follow it," Mewtwo said, understanding Pikachu's confusion.

"Wait! Won't that mean that the Orbs we gather will slowly become defiled too and turn our pokemon evil?" Ash asked, alarmed at the possibility of exposing his friends to such danger.

"No," Mew said, "You will be keeping them pure so you all should be fine." Ash breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he and his friends wouldn't be put into even more danger.

"Well there's another problem," Kirlia said, "Just how exactly do we locate the Orbs? They could be anywhere in the world from what the vision said."

"Ahh that's the beauty of the Orb's connections. They also forge a sort of resonance pattern that will allow you to pinpoint the location of the Orbs. The only problem is that if the orbs are corrupted their resonance will shut down and you will not be able to locate them, which is why we have had such trouble trying to find the Corrupted Normal-Aura Orb," Mewtwo said, "We must pray to Arceus that whoever has corrupted the orb has not discovered the resonance frequencies. Should our enemies uncover this secret, the very life force of the world could fall into evil." Ash nodded, now truly comprehending what was at risk.

"Guess this means that I gotta start training with you guys a lot more," Ash said, "I need to get stronger so I can do this." Pikachu and Latias nodded, knowing that they would have to step their training up as well.

"Don't worry Ash," Mew said, "MewMew and I will stay around for a bit and give you some advice and training methods to train your psychic side. And if you can, find someone who knows a lot about dragon-types and ask them for help."

"Awesome! I can ask some of my friends like Lance and stuff. With your guy's help and my friends', I'm sure that we can find and save all of the orbs," Ash said optimistically, "But what about my Aura powers?" Mew and Mewtwo grimaced at his last question. They had no idea where they could locate a Master of Aura. Sure the Legendaries had Aura and could easily use an attack like Aura Sphere, but when it came to the manipulation and control of that Aura, they were like bug types trying to use Fire Blast.

"I'm not sure Ash," Mewtwo said, "Perhaps you could go back to the place where Aura practice began."

"Oooo! That means home to me!" Mew said, spinning happily, "Maybe you could find some things there to help you learn. My home's a great training place too!" Kirlia and Riolu's faces lit up with excitement. If they left for the Tree of Beginning, they could visit their parents while still helping and staying with Ash. It all worked out!

"I think that's a great idea," Ash said happily, "We will have to wait for Brock and Misty to get back, but in the meantime we can train and get ready for the trip." They all nodded in agreement.

"So it's decided then! We'll head to the Tree of Beginning to start training!" Latias said, excited to visit this new place.

"Excellent," Mewtwo said, "We will have to meet up with you then for we still have some duties to fulfill. Get there within the next four to five days. By flying it should not take you too long. But if it comes to it, a week is the most you should take." Ash nodded in understanding.

"Let's go Mew. We have many things to do still," Mewtwo said before turning to Ash, "We shall see you in about a weeks time Ash. Be ready." And with that as they all waved goodbye, Mew and Mewtwo took to the skies and within moments, became nothing but small shadows covered by the clouds.

"We have a lot of things to do too," Pikachu said hopping off of Ash's back, "Looks like it's another great adventure for you Ash."

"Yeah..." Ash said slowly, but you could tell that there was a small trace of worry underneath it, "And I sure hope that they end up like all of the last ones because who knows what's waiting out there for me..." Latias smiled as she squeezed his claw in reassurance.

"But I'm sure with all of my friends," Ash said looking up to the skies, "I can do this..."

* * *

Far off in an unknown place

"Report!" a loud voice barked as the figure it belonged to folded his hands in expectation. He was expecting good news from this Rocket Grunt.

"We have located and are in the processing of extracting the second orb sir!" a small grunt said quickly.

"Excellent...Type?" his boss asked, hoping it would be what Dr. Namba said it would be. If that crazy scientist was actually correct, he could easily pick the most advantageous ones to pilfer next.

"We believe, Poison sir," the man responded, quickly, drawing a sinister smile from the figure reclining behind the desk.

"Good... Dismissed," Giovanni said. The grunt saluted and left the room, leaving the Team Rocket Boss to revel in his success. He smirked with complete satisfaction.

"Soon the powers of these super-natural orbs with be mine and with them, all of the world will obey me. There is no one to stop me now!" he said to himself with a dark chuckle. Everything was going according to plan.

* * *

(1) Yes..I know it doesn't exist. It's creative license sooo don't get all worked up. There are now 17 aura orbs and plates :P

Finally, I was able to finish this chapter!

I've been soooooo sooo busy lately with school, family and a bunch of other stuff. So please forgive me for taking such a long, long, loooongg time to update. And unfortunately this is probably going to happen more than once again soon. So please be patient. The updates will come eventually...

But anyways to the story!

Sooo now we have almost all of the information that we need! Now the next stage is the quest for the orbs! Looks like we're heading back to the Tree of Beginning to learn about Aura and to train Ash to learn how to properly use all of his powers!

Thank you for reading! And please review!

-Mekon


	17. Ch16: Just A Towel

**DISCLAIMER**

Try teaching Charizard Fly in Pokemon Red or Blue. You'll understand.

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

_"So it's decided then! We'll head to the Tree of Beginning to start training!" Latias said, excited to visit this new place._

_"Excellent," Mewtwo said, "We will have to meet up with you then for we still have some duties to fulfill. Get there within the next four to five days. By flying it should not take you too long. But if it comes to it, a week is the most you should take." Ash nodded in understanding._

_"Let's go Mew. We have many things to do still," Mewtwo said before turning to Ash, "We shall see you in about a weeks time Ash. Be ready." And with that as they all waved goodbye, Mew and Mewtwo took to the skies and within moments, became nothing but small shadows covered by the clouds._

_"We have a lot of things to do too," Pikachu said hopping off of Ash's back, "Looks like it's another great adventure for you Ash."_

_"Yeah..." Ash said slowly, but you could tell that there was a small trace of worry underneath it, "And I sure hope that they end up like all of the last ones because who knows what's waiting out there for me..." Latias smiled as she squeezed his claw in reassurance._

_"But I'm sure with all of my friends," Ash said looking up to the skies, "I can do this..."_

* * *

_Far off in an unknown place_

_"Report!" a loud voice barked as the figure it belonged to folded his hands in expectation. He was expecting good news from this Rocket Grunt._

_"We have located and are in the processing of extracting the second orb sir!" a small grunt said quickly._

_"Excellent...Type?" his boss asked, hoping it would be what Dr. Namba said it would be. If that crazy scientist was actually correct, he could easily pick the most advantageous ones to pilfer next._

_"We believe, Poison sir," the man responded, quickly, drawing a sinister smile from the figure reclining behind the desk._

_"Good... Dismissed," Giovanni said. The grunt saluted and left the room, leaving the Team Rocket Boss to revel in his success. He smirked with complete satisfaction._

_"Soon the powers of these super-natural orbs with be mine and with them, all of the world will obey me. There is no one to stop me now!" he said to himself with a dark chuckle. Everything was going according to plan._

* * *

**Fair Warning! This chapter gets somewhat suggestive.**

* * *

Ch16: Just A Towel

"_Fate was a strange thing for sure_", Ash decided as he watched Mew and Mewtwo disappear into the clouds, golden from the rays of the afternoon sun. Thoughts of what to do now and what to do next raced through his mind with no clear answers presenting themselves to him. At that moment in his deep reflection, he truly recognized the scope of the monumental task set before him, and it genuinely worried him.

"Are you alright Ash?" Pikachu asked, noticing the less than usual bewildered look on Ash's face. His trainer stayed quiet for a moment, trying to just gather his thoughts and recover a bit.

"I guess," Ash said, his eyes still trained on the horizon, "I'm thinking about the world and how large it really is. I'm thinking about how any of the orbs could be anywhere in the world right now. Are they safe? Are they in danger? I don't know. All that I know is that I'm supposed to save them and everyone else..." They all looked at him strangely, witnessing Ash thinking deeply was a very peculiar sight, but they empathized with him, knowing that a lot weighed on his shoulders.

'None of us know either Ash,' Latias answered as she looked to the horizon also, still holding one of his claws, 'But like you said. With all of us here, we can do it. I'll follow you to the ends of the Earth if I have to.' Ash smiled and turned to the eon holding his claw.

"Thanks Latias," Ash said as he looked into her shining golden eyes, the afternoon sun only enriching the color there. And Ash found himself mesmerized by the light that Latias' eyes seemed to emit. There was also something else there that Ash could see, but he didn't know what it was. Maybe he was just seeing things.

"Hate to break up such a cozy moment between you two," Riolu interjected, "But we really should get inside and get ready for our trip. Brock and Misty will be back here tomorrow, and we should be ready when they get here." Ash and Latias hastily broke apart, a small amount of blush tinting their cheeks. But they knew that Riolu was right. Ash and Latias changed back into their human forms, and they all entered Ash's house. From behind, Pikachu shook his head at the interaction between Ash and Latias, deciding that now was a good as time as any to tell Ash about pokemon mating. The sooner he knew the better.

* * *

"Mom!" Ash called through the house, "We're back!" He could hear the tell-tale signs of his mother cooking away in the kitchen, humming a small tune all the while.

"Hello dear!" Mrs. Ketchum said, as she popped her head around the corner from the kitchen, "Dinner's going to be ready in a half-hour so get ready."

"Great!" Ash responded happily, "No problem mom!" Latias, Dawn, Riolu and Kirlia went off to prepare for dinner, and Ash was about to do the same, but he was suddenly stopped by Pikachu.

"Yeah buddy?" he asked, wondering what Pikachu needed,

"We need to have a quick chat," Pikachu said as he hopped up the stairs into Ash's bedroom with Ash following closely after. The electric-type promptly deposited himself onto Ash's bed and motioned for the boy to sit directly in front of him.

"What's this all about Pikachu?" Ash asked, wondering what Pikachu thought was so important to talk about right now.

"It's important," Pikachu answered curtly, allowing Ash to sit down before speaking again, "What do you know about pokemon mating Ash?" The young trainer paused before attempting to answer.

"Uhhhh...why?" Ash asked, a bit confused as to why this subject seemed to be randomly be popping up.

"Just answer the question," Pikachu sighed out, "What do you know about pokemon mating?" Ash shifted in his seat, obviously uncomfortable with the topic at hand, but he knew that Pikachu wasn't going to back down just by his tone.

"Um...Well I know that pokemon that love each other mate. I know that much. I helped that Donphan on that island do that," Ash said slowly, really having not a single clue what Pokemon mating entailed. Pikachu rolled his eyes, knowing that he should have expected this.

"Ohhh boy...looks like we will have to start from square one..." Pikachu said as he hopped over to the door and slowly closed it. He didn't want anyone else listening in on his conversation with his trainer.

"Why does it matter anyway?" Ash asked as Pikachu had finished shutting the door. Pikachu twitched a bit, trying his best to resist his oh so very dense trainer.

"Patience...patience is key," Pikachu muttered to himself as he slowly walked back to the bed. He was starting to think that this process was going to be a long and very, very painful one.

"Alright Ash. Let's start from the beginning...we'll move from human to pokemon so you can understand," Pikachu said in an already tired voice, "Ash...what is dating?"

"Well...isn't it when a boy likes a girl and vice-versa?" Ash said, not very confident in his answer because he had never dated before.

"That's definitely part of it..." Pikachu answered, "Dating is when two people who find an attraction to each other spend time together, exclusively together that is."

"What's so special about it?" Ash asked obliviously. Pikachu sighed, wishing that sometimes his trainer was a little bit smarter when dealing with life issues.

"Most of the time, dating includes romantic things such as kissing and hugging and all that stuff," Pikachu answered, "And usually the two that are dating are called boyfriend and girlfriend." Ash twitched at the mere thought of such intimacy, but Pikachu quickly cut him off.

"You may think it's a bit weird now. But in a short time, I predict that you will definitely be enjoy it..." Pikachu said with a little smirk, thinking about Ash's special dragon that he kept around him all the time.

"I don't know Pikachu..." Ash said hesitantly, "Besides...who would want to date me anyway?"

"I'm sure you'll find someone..." Pikachu said, while adding under his breath, "Or that someone will find you..."

"Huh?" Ash asked, his pokemon hearing picking up on some of the things Pikachu had muttered.

"Nothing..." Pikachu answered quickly, "Anyways! So lets translate this into pokemon dating which is a little different." Ash was paying close attention now, wanting to find out what the big deal with mating, and dating and all that jazz. "So first off. For pokemon, dating is called courting. And there's a big difference between the two."

"What's that?" Ash questioned.

"Humans can date just for fun, enjoyment and companionship," Pikachu said, "But for pokemon, courting is very, very serious. Courting, for us, shows that we have an interest for forming a life-long relationship with the Pokemon of interest. This life-long partner is called a mate. Usually, Pokemon mate only once. Humans on the other hand, can marry, divorce, remarry, etc. And there's a special reason that Pokemon usually mate once."

"What's that?" Ash asked, finding all this information very interesting, and for some reason, he knew that it would become important to him soon.

"Pokemon are strictly territorial and very possessive. When courting, a special mark is made on the male and female by the opposite gender to show that they are taken, though it is not permanent and can go away if the courting is ended. Courting is basically the same as dating, elevated to a higher level of intimacy. Pokemon who are courting usually spend a lot of time together and eventually live together if everything works out, which will eventually lead to the last stage of pokemon relationship building, mating."

"Okay...so courting is like dating and this mating is like marriage?" Ash asked, somewhat understanding the process.

"Sort of..." Pikachu said, "there's one thing that is very fundamental with pokemon mating. Humans bond together in body, and very seldom, soul. Pokemon, in order to become mates, true love must be present between the two, and when they actually do become mates, they bond in both body and soul. When this happens, their mark solidifies and becomes permanent; a true bond forms between them, and they become mates."

"Wow..." Ash said, able to understand how truly powerful this pokemon mating was. He had heard all his life about how humans would marry and divorce and not stay together. In fact, he and his mother were victims of such tragedy. "So how do two pokemon become mates?" Pikachu blinked rapidly, his face somewhat blank. He should have known that Ash had no idea what the physical side of relationships entailed, and he also quite sure that Ash wasn't ready for that much information.

"Uhh...let's talk about that at a different time," Pikachu said, trying to get out of teaching Ash what the word "mating" suggested.

"Why?" Ash protested, "You already started telling me about it. You might as well finish it."

"No, I really think that we should talk about this some other time," Pikachu said as he attempted to jump off of the bed and retreat downstairs, but his tail was swiftly caught by Ash, however, trapping the small electric-type.

"Pikachu," Ash said, "Tell me." Pikachu sighed, and Ash let his tail go.

"Are you sure you really want to know?" Pikachu asked once more hopelessly, knowing that his trainer would not give in. Absentmindedly, Pikachu's ear twitched, hearing the shower of the room adjacent to them start up.

"Yes!" Ash exclaimed, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Alright fine. But don't say I didn't warn you," Pikachu answered, finally giving in. He calmly walked over to the door and shut it in preparation for what was sure to come.

"Okay Ash. Here's how it is..."

* * *

Meanwhile

Latias lightly hummed to herself as she stepped out of the bathtub to dry herself off, grabbing a fresh towel off the rack, wrapping it snugly around herself. Grabbing a small brush on the counter, she absentmindedly combed her hair, as she silently reflected on the last few weeks of her life. If someone had told her that she would end up traveling and living with Ash, her secret love, only a month ago, she would have brushed it off, believing it to never be able to happen. But here she was now, living with Ash and even being actively trained by him. It was like a never-ending dream, and she loved every minute of it. The red-eon dragon's musings were abruptly interrupted, however, by a horrendous, gut-wrenching scream of pure terror and fear.

Latias jumped, clearly startled by the horrible yell, and she panicked. She poked her head out of the hallway bathroom to see what was going on, hoping that everything was alright. She turned just in time to see Ash run into her and fall on top of her with nothing but her towel acting as a barrier between them. Latias blushed a billion different shades of red as she became trapped in the extremely compromising position.

"Ash!" Latias yelled, her face completely on fire, "What are you doing!" Ash, just now noticing that Latias was clad in nothing but a small towel, immediately became as red as she was, and he fumbled for an answer to her question.

"Latias..I...uhh...well..I can explain," Ash stuttered out, not able to look at her at the moment, especially after Pikachu's rather uncensored revelation of what mating was. Latias really didn't want to hear it. One she was practically naked at the moment and two, if she didn't get Ash off of her soon, she was pretty sure that she would die of complete embarrassment. Unfortunately, more embarrassment came in the form of a small little electric mouse pokemon.

"Shesh Ash! I didn't expect you to already try out mating right after I told you what it was!" Pikachu exclaimed as he found Ash lying on top of Latias. Ash and Latias almost died right there. Of all the embarrassing things that had happened between them, this was by far the worst; their fiery blushing escalating into infernos on their faces. All Ash could do was stutter and babble in response to Pikachu's statement. Latias was suffering just as badly too.

"Um...Ash can you get off me please?" Latias hissed, not able to look her trainer in the face at all. Ash quickly rolled off of her and stood up shakily, also paralyzed by his own embarrassment. He stumbled out of the bathroom, and broke into a run as he went to the sanctuary of his own room with Pikachu following closely after closing the door for Latias, who was still heaving on the floor with a face as red as her Lati wings.

* * *

Meanwhile

Mrs. Ketchum was just adding the finishing touches to dinner when a loud scream reverberated throughout the house. She easily identified the voice and shook her head, believing that Ash had probably just done something to hurt himself. He was just so clumsy. So she just returned to finishing up dinner, not bothering to go upstairs, much to the luck of Ash. If she had gone upstairs and investigated, Ash would have surely been killed, or at least grounded for all eternity.

"Dinner's ready!" Delia called, as she began moving the food to the main table. Immediately, she heard footsteps thundering down the main hallway upstairs and excited feet come rushing down the stairs. She looked up to see, Dawn, Riolu, Kirlia, Piplup, and Pikachu descending the stairs. Immediately, she became a little confused. Mrs. Ketchum was just so used to seeing her son down first, and he was no where in sight. She also noticed that Latias was missing as well. Her eyes became wide and she rushed upstairs, fury in her eyes.

"ASH KETCHUM HOW DARE..." Mrs. Ketchum screamed as she rushed upstairs and smashed her way into Ash's room, only to find her son sitting down on his bed, with his hands over his eyes, causing her to stop shouting.

"Oh...s..sorry mom," Ash stuttered out, attempting to regain his composure.

"What's wrong dear?" Mrs. Ketchum said as she rushed to his side, "Are you sick? Not feeling well? Do you have a headache? You're completely red!" She soon started testing his temperature with the back on her hands.

"No I'm f..fine mom," Ash answered, trying his best to calm down from his earlier fiasco. He didn't need any more embarrassment, especially from his own mother.

"No, you're obviously not! Look at you! You're cheeks are completely flushed, and you're sweating buckets!" Ash's mother responded, "I hope to Arceus that you didn't get Latias sick too! She didn't come downstairs!" Suddenly, Ash's temperature and heartbeat skyrocketed at the mere mention of the female eon-dragon. Unfortunately, for Ash, his mother was a very perceptive women, and she easily noticed the dramatic shift in pulse and blush.

"Alright...what's going on Ashton?" Mrs. Ketchum demanded as she stood up and folded her arms, expecting a full explanation from her son.

"It's...n..nothing mom! I swear!" Ash answered, growing desperate. A thousand deaths awaited him if his own mother found out about his little incident. The first would be her fury, next would be her insinuations, then her jokes would follow along with her gossiping to the entire town about it.

"Don't you lie to me Ashton!" She yelled, never happy with secrets being kept from her. She would find out one way or another. Her son didn't look like he was talking, however, and she decided to resort to more underhanded ways. "Stay here." Mrs. Ketchum waltz out of the room and down the hallway. Ash could hear a door being opened, and his eyes grew wide. There was only one other possible person she could be talking to. He jumped up to make his escape, but it was too late, his mother reappeared with none other than Latias in her grip, who also looked like she was attempting an escape from Ash's mother.

Delia moved Latias to sit in front of Ash with a nearby chair and watched. Her wrath slowly began to slip into a fit of giggles as she watched them attempt to make eye contact and then abruptly jerk away with fresh blushes on their faces.

"You two are so adorable!" Mrs. Ketchum finally said after putting them through the torturous little meeting. This comment did not help Ash and Latias at all. Delia suddenly remembered that dinner was on, however, and decided to give them a little break. "Alright...I'll let you two go...for now. BUT I will find out about this little incident one way or another." Latias and Ash breathed out sighs of relief, amazed that they had somehow escaped from eternal humiliation at the hands of Ash's own mother. They knew that their reprieve would not last long, however.

* * *

Back downstairs with everyone else

"Where's Ash and Latias?" Dawn asked randomly, after noticing their lack of presence in the room, "Usually Ash is the first one down here to stuff his face in."

"Ash is just hiding," Pikachu answered with a smile, "Not sure what Latias is doing, but I'm pretty sure it's the same thing." The pokemon looked at him with wondering eyes. What could make Ash so afraid that he would hide from getting food?

"So what happened to him?" Dawn asked, not fully understanding what Pikachu said. She was really starting to get jealous of Ash's ability to understand pokemon. Pikachu looked thoughtful for a moment, trying to figure out a way to communicate Ash's situation to Dawn. And a brilliant, and potentially hilarious idea came to him.

Hoping to the living room with everyone else following him, he prepared to play a bit of charades for his friends. Grabbing a nearby white towel from the kitchen, he was ready to begin. He began by mentioning Ash and Latias, something which Dawn could easily understand by now.

"Okay...Ash and Latias," Dawn said, "What about them?" Pikachu then pulled over Kirlia and Riolu, denoting Riolu to act as Ash and Kirlia to act as Latias. He then asked Piplup to come over and help him for a moment.

"What are you guys doing?" Dawn asked, extremely confused by the actions of the small pokemon performing a little play in front of her.

"What's going on Pikachu?" Kirlia asked, also wondering why Pikachu was using them as actors.

"You'll see!" Pikachu answered quickly, trying his best to hide his laugh. He quickly walked over to Dawn and pointed at her skirt and then to her top.

"Uhhh? Skirt?" Dawn asked, drawing a head shake from Pikachu, "Hmmmm clothes?" Pikachu nodded and rushed to the T.V. He turned it on and then off.

"Okay...clothes ….off?" Dawn said, extremely confused now, but then Pikachu pointed to Latias, aka. Kirlia. "Okay. Latias clothes off." Pikachu then brought over Piplup and asked him to make a little shower of water over Kirlia.

"Ohhhhh okay! Latias was in the shower!" Dawn said, making the connection. Pikachu nodded; he then told Piplup to stop and brought over the little towel, draping it over Kirlia, who actually needed it at that moment.

"Got this one. Latias came out of the shower," the Sinnoh coordinator responded, which was quickly confirmed by the small electric mouse pokemon. Pikachu then started randomly running around the room frantically, imitating Ash from before. After he was done, he pointed to Riolu.

"Ash running?" Dawn said, a bit unsure. Pikachu nodded in response. "Ohh! Is that why he was screaming a minute ago?"

"Yup!" Pikachu responded, but then quickly returned to his little play. Now, Kirlia was Latias in a towel, fresh from a shower, and Riolu was Ash, running around for some reason, screaming. Pikachu then snickered to himself as he positioned Kirlia and Riolu next to each other, neither of them having single clue what Pikachu had planned for them. Suddenly, it all became clear, however, as Riolu found himself being shoved with no where else to go but land directly on Kirlia. Immediately, as Riolu's body crashed onto Kirlia's, a fierce blush raged across both the psychic type's face and the fighting type's face. Pikachu burst out laughing, reveling in his success.

"Wait! So you mean that Ash ran into Latias on accident as she was coming out of the shower and landed on top of her?" Dawn asked, and by Pikachu's laughter she could tell she had guessed correct. Promptly, she descended into a fit of giggles, as she noticed Kirlia's and Riolu's faces and as she figured out what had happened to Ash. Riolu quickly rolled off of Kirlia, trying not to look at her in the face. It was embarrassing enough that he had landing on top of her, but it was even more embarrassing given the context of what was supposed to have happened. He glared at Pikachu who was still rolling around on the floor laughing. Riolu tried to shake it off, however, offering his hand to Kirlia, who shakily took it as Riolu pulled her off of the ground.

"We're going to get you back for that one Pikachu," Kirlia said while trying to control her raging blush. Pikachu gave a wide grin, and a wink in response.

"Anyways," Pikachu said as his ear detected Mrs. Ketchum, Ash and Latias descending the stairs, "We should get back to dinner. I hear the two love-dragons and Delia finally coming down." Dawn nodded, attempting to hide her wide smile. This story was one for the blackmail box Dawn thought to herself with a snicker.

* * *

Finally they were all gathered at the table, ready to eat the delicious meal that Ash's mother had prepared. Luckily, the amount of time that they had spent away from the food had allowed it to cool just enough to be the perfect temperature for eating. They sat in awe for a moment as they laid their eyes upon the feast that Delia had laboriously prepared for them. Food littered all over the table with various sauces and dips scattered all around. All of Ash's favorite foods were there, and even a large turkey was present as the main dish.

'Wow! It looks great Mrs. Ketchum,' Latias said as she laid her eyes upon the sheer amount of food that Ash's mother had prepared for them.

"Yea Mom! There's so much!" Ash said, his eyes growing to extremely comical proportions as his stomach anticipated the depositing of such delicious delectables into his tummy, "Uhh...but why did you make so much anyway? Is there something special that I missed?" Mrs. Ketchum smiled, always expecting such curiosity from her son.

"Of course not dear," Delia responded, "It's just that...well...I'm sure that you'll be leaving tomorrow once Brock and Misty get back...so I wanted to make you all a big dinner. I can just tell when you have the adventure look in your eyes." Mrs. Ketchum tried her best to sound happy about the entire thing, but they could all see the sadness in her eyes. Ash ran forward and gave her a quick hug which was promptly returned.

"Thanks Mom," Ash answered, flashing her a great big smile which Delia also returned.

"Anyways, let's not worry about such things," Delia said as she relinquished her son from her grasp, "Let's enjoy dinner." They all agreed and took their places around the table. Dawn sat down next to Piplup and on the left of Delia. Riolu took a seat to Piplup's right, and Kirlia took the seat left next to Riolu. Pikachu promptly claimed his spot next to Delia, leaving only two spots left. Ash blushed a bit as he looked at Latias again in the eyes, but allowed her to sit down first next to Kirlia. Ash then wobbled into his seat as Pikachu patted the seat to his immediate right with a smile. Ash was a bit nervous sitting right next to Latias after his little incident and was hoping that his mother wouldn't bring it up at all during the meal.

Finally, dinner began, and slowly Ash's worries slowly drifted away. They talked about their past adventures and the people they had meet. Delia was very eager to hear of Ash and his latest travels and adventures. Unfortunately, Ash mentioned many situations where his own life was threatened and was promptly scolded by his mother for being to reckless. But that passed as Delia moved on to learning more about Dawn and Sinnoh. They told her stories of the pokemon there and some of the lengendaries they had meet, many of which had amazing power and the ability to influence the entire world. When they had finally exhausted that topic, Mrs. Ketchum moved onto Latias.

"So...Latias," Mrs. Ketchum said, "Where are you from?"

'I'm from a town called Alto Mare. It's a city situated in the middle of the sea in between the Hoenn and Jhoto regions. It's really peaceful, and the ocean is just so pretty around there,' Latias answered as she remembered her home, 'Pallet Town reminds me a lot about Alto Mare. There just isn't as much water.'

"I see. It sounds like a wonderful place dear," Mrs. Ketchum said, "So how did you meet Ash?" Just as Delia popped this question, Latias immediately started turning a bit red as she twiddled her thumbs in an attempt to hide her affections.

'Well..uh...um...I first saw Ash racing in the Tour De Alto Mare with his Totodile. He lost control and almost crashed into a wall, and I kinda saved him from smashing his head in,' Latias said fondly, remembering Ash all those years ago. 'I kinda tried to help him win the race, but Latios made me stop because he said it was cheating.' Ash smiled, never guessing that was really what had happened that day.

"Sounds like something that would happen to Ash," Dawn said with a smile, enjoying the story so far.

Mrs. Ketchum smiled too but it wasn't just the story. It was because she could clearly see the amount of love that Latias held for her son in the way the talked and in the way that she continually blushed and looked sideways at her son. She continued to listen as Latias passionately retold her story.

'I didn't really expect to see him again, but I found him giving Pikachu a drink at the nearby fountain. I was kind of curious so I went down to meet him and Pikachu,' Latias continued, 'I usually don't go up to humans, even in my disguise, but for some reason...I kind of just wanted to.' Pikachu tried his best to hold his tongue as to responded why she approached. 'Anyways. I quickly left after that.'

"Yeah then after that, Pikachu and I had to come and save you," Ash added with a grin, easily remembering that fateful day.

"Save her? From what?" Delia asked.

"Two Team Rocket spies who were after Latias and Latios," Ash responded, contempt filling his voice as he remembered what they did to Latias and Latios. If it were not for them, Latios would have still been alive and well.

Latias could sense the rage slowly building in Ash and slowly laid her hand on his, giving him a small smile, telling him that it was alright. Ash took a deep breath and slowly calmed down from his little moment of rage.

'So anyway, I was attacked by those two spies and was trapped,' Latias said, 'Then out of nowhere, Ash and Pikachu suddenly appear and rescue me from them.' Dawn sighed, wishing she'd meet someone who would do things like that for her.

"Always playing the hero Ash," Dawn said with a grin.

"Hey. I don't look for it to happen! It just does happen. And it was the right thing to do anyway," Ash answered back in his defense. Dawn laughed, knowing how true that statement really was.

"So what happened next?" Kirlia asked, very interested in the story of how Ash and Latias came to meet each other.

'Well then, I was able to escape, and I left Ash and Pikachu back at where they started. I quickly ran to the secret garden where my brother, Latios was. I quickly told him, Bianca and Lorenzo about the people who had tried to attack me. Latios was really worried about it, and told me not to go outside of the garden again,' Latias said, 'I didn't listen though. I went back outside and somehow, Ash found me again.'

"We were following Bianca because she looked like you back then. Pikachu and I were trying to figure out why those two Team Rocket spies had attacked you," Ash responded. Latias nodded, understanding how it all connected now.

'Well I wanted to play a bit more, so I lead them to the secret garden. Latios didn't really like them at all at first because he was suspicious that Ash was part of that group that had tried to attack me. I told him otherwise; he eventually learned to trust Ash and Pikachu. They also met Bianca there formally and figured out why I looked like her,' the red eon-dragon said, her memories of her brother filling her mind and heart. She didn't know what to feel right now: sad or happy. Ash understood what was going on and this time held her hand in response. She smiled back gratefully. 'Things were great for a while. We played a bit, but eventually Ash and Pikachu had to leave. But at night, those two spies came in and attacked us. They captured my brother and stole the Soul Dew which held my father's soul to keep the town alive. I was barely able to escape because my brother protected me.' Ash grimaced, now knowing the full extent of the abuse that Team Rocket had done to Latias and her family.

"That's horrible," Dawn said, "I can't believe that they would do that."

'They did. And they wanted to capture me too to power this old device that was able to control the world with our massive amounts of untapped psychic power. Even with just Latios and the Soul Dew, they were able to control the entire city and bring back two ancient pokemon from the dead to hunt me down and bring me to them. I went to Ash as fast as I could because I knew that I could trust him and that he would help me. That was also when I met Brock and Misty. I was able to relate to Ash what had happened to my brother though his sight sharing, and together we quickly made our way to the museum to save him.'

"That was pretty crazy. I remember. There were bars appearing all over the city like magic, baring anyone's way to the museum. There was even this huge column of water that almost drowned me, Pikachu and Latias. Somehow, Latias' powers kicked in and destroyed the water column, letting us make our way into the museum to save Latios, Bianca and Lorenzo," Ash said, "There really wasn't any battle. The hardest part was getting Latios out of the DMA."

"DMA?" Delia asked, no understanding what Ash meant by that.

"Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare. It was meant to be used in extreme emergencies. But if it was abused, the town would be destroyed," Ash answered.

'And that's just what almost happened. We were able to get my brother out of the machine, but just barely, and he was really hurt. Soon after, the machine shut down, but the Soul Dew was dying. This caused the machine to malfunction. And as we went outside, all of the waters from the sea around us went back out, leaving our canals dry. But the water came back in the form of an enormous tidal wave that would have destroyed the entire town and killed all the people and pokemon there,' Latias said.

"How did you stop it?" Riolu asked, "The amount of power you would need to stop a tidal wave with enough water to drain your city to the ocean floor would be enormous." Latias paused a bit, trying to get herself together for what she had to say next.

'A Latias and Latios that are linked together have a very special power. They combine their two psychs and use their power to the fullest extent, creating a sort of psychic explosion. Together, my brother and I use this power to stop the tidal wave...' Latias said, 'but...my brother was too injured and weakened from the abuse of the machine...when he used this power...he sacrificed his own life to save the city...and me..." Small tears leaked from Latias' eyes as she finished her tale. Tears could be seen in Delia's, Dawn's and Kirlia's eyes as well. Riolu looked shocked, not expecting the death of Latias' brother to be the end of the tale.

'And when he gave his life, he added his soul to the Soul Dew, allowing the city to live and prosper once more...' Latias said, 'Then...Ash and his friends had to leave.' Latias quieted as she finished up her story. The entire table remained quiet also, their minds trying to grasp the true magnitude of suffering that Latias must have gone through.

"That's so sad..." Kirlia said, "You must have been really sad when Ash left. It bet it was kind of lonely."

'I was sad...but I was also kind of happy,' Latias said, blushing a bit as she remembered her good-byes, 'Not because he was leaving...but other things...' Most of them had no idea what she was talking about, but Pikachu sure did. Ash was still trying to decipher her.

"AHA!" Pikachu said, "So it was YOU down by the docks!You kissed Ash when we left that day!" Latias immediately blushed. She didn't count on Pikachu remembering that day at all.

"Awww.." Kirlia gushed, "That's so cute! You two were lovers even back then!" Riolu chuckled to himself as he watched Ash and Latias darken considerably.

"Why so much blush dear?" Mrs. Ketchum asked, "You two were blushing like this all upstairs too." Pikachu couldn't control himself and laughed so hard that he almost fell out of his seat.

"Speaking of upstairs!" Pikachu started before having his mouth firmly clamped by his trainer who was furiously forbidding Pikachu from ever speaking about the incident ever.

"Give it up Ash," Dawn said with a giggle, easily recognizing what Ash was trying to cover up, "We all already know." Ash's and Latias' eyes enlarged, and they were both left speechless.

"But...but...gah!" they both groaned out, and then promptly face-planted into the table in disbelief. Everyone at the table laughed heartily at them for a long time.

"Alright alright. That's enough," Mrs. Ketchum said with a giggle as she wiped a tear from her eye from laughing so much, "It's time to get to bed. You all have a big day tomorrow!" They all nodded and helped clear the table before they went upstairs to sleep. Tomorrow, Misty and Brock would finally be coming back, and their adventure would begin.

Ash sluggishly dragged himself to his bed after turning off the lights. He was just so tired, especially after the day's events. Pikachu promptly jumped into bed and snuggled under the covers, ready to get some shut-eye. Ash was just about to turn off his lamp when the door suddenly opened, allowing the flooding light of the hallway to streak in. It took Ash a couple moments before he could make out the figure in the hallway, but after a bit he knew it was Latias.

"Um...do you mind if I sleep here Ash?" Latias asked as she shuffled her feet, "Dawn kind of talks in her sleep a lot." Ash was a bit hesitant just because he was still somewhat embarrassed, but decided to shrug it off.

"Sure," Ash answered a bit groggily.

"Thanks," Latias breathed out as she entered and closed the door behind her. Latias made her way to the bed and slipped in, giving Ash a small smile of thanks.

"Night Latias. Night Pikachu," Ash said as he finally turned off the lamp, plunging the room into wonderful darkness. Within minutes, Ash was fast asleep. Latias, however, was still awake. She slowly turned to face Ash and just studied him for a few minutes. He looked so calm and peaceful when he slept. She smiled once more and gave him a small kiss on his forehead before turning around to fall asleep.

"Goodnight..Ash"

* * *

Now wasn't that cute! I hope you guys enjoyed all of the fluff and teasing I added to this chapter! I even added a recap of the original story for those who haven't really watched all or any of the movie. I was in a particularly good mood thanks to the holiday.

Anyways! It's almost adventure time! Misty and Brock are finally coming back. I've really missed their influence in this story. Once they are back, we'll be on our way to saving the world!

I hope you guys had an amazing Thanksgiving if you're in the states. If you're not. I hope that you're last week or weekend was really great!

Thank you for reading and please review!

-Mekon


	18. Ch17: Venomous Corruption

**DISCLAIMER**

If only I had gotten Pokemon ownership for Christmas! :P

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

_"AHA!" Pikachu said, "So it was YOU down by the docks!You kissed Ash when we left that day!" Latias immediately blushed. She didn't count on Pikachu remembering that day at all._

_"Awww.." Kirlia gushed, "That's so cute! You two were lovers even back then!" Riolu chuckled to himself as he watched Ash and Latias darken considerably._

_"Why so much blush dear?" Mrs. Ketchum asked, "You two were blushing like this all upstairs too." Pikachu couldn't control himself and laughed so hard that he almost fell out of his seat._

_"Speaking of upstairs!" Pikachu started before having his mouth firmly clamped by his trainer who was furiously forbidding Pikachu from ever speaking about the incident ever._

_"Give it up Ash," Dawn said with a giggle, easily recognizing what Ash was trying to cover up, "We all already know." Ash's and Latias' eyes enlarged, and they were both left speechless._

_"But...but...gah!" they both groaned out, and then promptly face-planted into the table in disbelief. Everyone at the table laughed heartily at them for a long time._

_"Alright alright. That's enough," Mrs. Ketchum said with a giggle as she wiped a tear from her eye from laughing so much, "It's time to get to bed. You all have a big day tomorrow!" They all nodded and helped clear the table before they went upstairs to sleep. Tomorrow, Misty and Brock would finally be coming back, and their adventure would begin._

_Ash sluggishly dragged himself to his bed after turning off the lights. He was just so tired, especially after the day's events. Pikachu promptly jumped into bed and snuggled under the covers, ready to get some shut-eye. Ash was just about to turn off his lamp when the door suddenly opened, allowing the flooding light of the hallway to streak in. It took Ash a couple moments before he could make out the figure in the hallway, but after a bit he knew it was Latias._

_"Um...do you mind if I sleep here Ash?" Latias asked as she shuffled her feet, "Dawn kind of talks in her sleep a lot." Ash was a bit hesitant just because he was still somewhat embarrassed, but decided to shrug it off._

_"Sure," Ash answered a bit groggily._

_"Thanks," Latias breathed out as she entered and closed the door behind her. Latias made her way to the bed and slipped in, giving Ash a small smile of thanks._

_"Night Latias. Night Pikachu," Ash said as he finally turned off the lamp, plunging the room into wonderful darkness. Within minutes, Ash was fast asleep. Latias, however, was still awake. She slowly turned to face Ash and just studied him for a few minutes. He looked so calm and peaceful when he slept. She smiled once more and gave him a small kiss on his forehead before turning around to fall asleep._

_"Goodnight..Ash"_

* * *

Ch17: Venomous Corruption

A soft cool breeze floated through Pallet and the Viridian forest today, carrying the soft chirping of the nearby Pidgey through the town and forest. The fine blades of grass that populated the landscape still held their morning supplement of fresh dew as a low mist hugged the morning ground.

Brock took a deep breath of the fresh morning air and sighed happily as he trudged through the Viridian Forest, the leaves on the grass floor providing a satisfying crunch underneath his footsteps while on his way to Ash's house. He had thoroughly enjoyed his brief family visit, catching up with his siblings and parents. Forest was particularity doing well as the gym leader in his place, his pokemon becoming almost on par with his own. However, Brock could still claim his place as a superior battler for now, due to a little friendly competition that had taken place between him and his sibling.

The breeder couldn't wait to get back; the past few days of rest had been really nice and relaxing, but he just felt that he still needed to get out there and get experience which was why he enjoyed traveling so much. And with Ash around, it guaranteed that things were going to happen.

Brock lightly whistled a tune as he continued to travel through the Viridian Forest. He expected a very easy trek back to Ash's. His expectations were interrupted, however, by a high-pitched scream of absolute and utter terror. Brock, alarmed by the screech, though quite sure he knew who it belonged to, quickly made his way towards the yell and found an amusing sight to greet him.

"GET IT OFF! GET! IT! OFF!" Misty screeched as she flailed her arms around madly as a small Caterpie slowly inched up her left arm. Around Misty, a small Azurill was bouncing around happily, laughing at the predicament that her trainer had found herself in. Brock promptly began laughing hysterically as well, which caused Misty to notice her friend. "BROCK! HELP!"

"Aww c'mon Misty, these little guys aren't that bad," Brock said with a smile as he plucked the little Caterpie off of Misty's arm and left it comfortably in a nearby tree. Misty let out a breath of relief, quickly looking around to make sure no other bug-type pokemon had latched themselves onto her.

"Thanks for that Brock," Misty said, as she slowly began to calm down, letting Azurill jump back into her arms. Brock nodded in acknowledgment.

"Off to Ash's then?" Brock asked as he began to move forward. Misty nodded and hurried forward to travel with one of her closest friends.

"So how was your visit?" Misty asked as they calmly walked through the forest. She continued to survey each tree, however, wanting to make sure that no other bug pokemon would suddenly jump out and latch onto her.

"Great. Mom and dad are doing fine. Siblings are growing up nicely. Forest is doing an awesome job as gym-leader," Brock answered, "How about you?" Misty shrugged.

"Same old same old. Sisters are doing fine. They have actually gotten somewhat better at their battling and are kind of enjoying it, instead of just thinking about doing beauty shows," Misty said dryly, causing Brock to chuckle, knowing just what Misty referred to.

"And how are you Azurill?" Brock asked the baby pokemon, causing it to smile happily in Misty's arms. Brock smiled and petting the small pokemon, complimenting Misty on how well she was raising her. They then just traveled in comfortable silence, and soon the end of the Viridian Forest was in sight as well as Pallet Town, allowing Misty to relax.

"Wonder what Ash, Dawn and Latias have been doing over the last few days," Brock wondered out loud, as they saw Ash's house in the distance.

"Who knows? Not much I bet," Misty answered while shrugging nonchalantly, "Well what are we waiting for? We aren't going to get to Ash's house just by looking at it." She moved forward and away from the bug-filled forest with Brock following behind her.

"Guess we'll find out when we get there then," Brock said, knowing that the odds of nothing happening around Ash were close to impossible.

* * *

At Ash's house

Latias slowly pulled out of her slumber, opening her amber eyes just enough to see that the day was already starting. She didn't want to get out of bed, however, especially now. At the moment, she noticed that her arms were quite firmly wrapped around Ash's form; she guessed that in her sleep she must have subconsciously moved into that position, not that she minded, however. On the contrary, she enjoyed it a lot. Latias knew that she had to pull away now though, and with much reluctance, retracted her petite hands and slowly stepped onto the floor, trying her best to not disturb the boy, who was still fast asleep. She didn't notice the small frown that seemed to appear on his face when she pulled away, however.

"You should really try to control yourself you know," a voice from behind the bed randomly said, causing Latias to almost yelp and possibly wake Ash. She recognized the voice, however, and followed it to the small yellow-mouse laying down on the opposite side of Ash.

"Oh...did I wake you Pikachu?" Latias asked, hoping that she hadn't accidentally disturbed the small electric mouse pokemon. He shook his head and slowly stood up on the bed, stretching himself out with a yawn.

"Not really," Pikachu responded sleepily, "I've been awake for maybe about twenty or thirty minutes. I just wanted to stay warm was all."

"Oh sorry about that," Latias answered sheepishly, "But what did you mean by 'control yourself?'" Pikachu grinned as he deftly hopped off the bed, leaving his trainer completely undisturbed, not that it really mattered anyway. Ash could sleep through just about anything.

"Nothing too big," Pikachu responded teasingly, "Just try to keep your hands to yourself maybe?" Latias blushed, understanding what Pikachu was referring to. "Though I must admit that Ash looked pretty comfortable himself." Latias stared at the floor, trying to avoid showing Pikachu the amount of red on the face and the delight in her eyes. Pikachu just chuckled, knowing exactly what was going on. He decided to just leave it at that, however. "C'mon then! Delia usually has breakfast up and running. If not, maybe you can make some food like you did a few days ago." Latias nodded as she followed the small electric mouse pokemon downstairs, slowly closing the door behind her as quietly as possible.

Latias could easily hear the workings of Mrs. Ketchum in the kitchen by the sounds of frying eggs and her humming. The red eon also noticed that Dawn and Piplup were sitting at the table, going over what sounded like contest details.

"Good morning dear," Mrs. Ketchum said as she looked up from the simmering eggs on her pan.

'Morning Mrs. Ketchum. Morning Dawn,' Latias responded happily as she took her place next to Dawn, who happily greeted the female eon in the same fashion.

"Ready for traveling?" Dawn asked as Latias took a plate of food, "I think we've got a really long way to go." Dawn wasn't really sure where The Tree of Beginning actually was specifically, but from what she gathered, it was quite far away.

'Yeah I think so too,' Latias answered, 'But i think that it will be worth it when we get there. I hear that the Tree of Beginning is really stunning.' Dawn smiled, just trying to imagine what it would be like.

Just then, they heard a knock on the door.

'I'll get it!' Latias announced as she walked to the door and swung it open.

"Hey! We're back!" Brock said with a wave and a smile. Misty waved from behind Brock, her Azurill trilling happily.

'Hey! You guys are finally back!' Latias said with a grin as she let them pass through the doorway into the main foyer.

"Hey! Brock! Misty!" Pikachu said as he noticed his two old friends. The two prior gym-leaders smiled and petted the small electric mouse pokemon affectionately in response. Azurill trilled happily upon noticing the electric-type and hopped out of her mother's arms to go play with Pikachu. Misty and Brock continued onto the dining room, where Dawn happily greeted her two friends.

"Brock. Misty. Welcome back," Mrs. Ketchum said as she walked out of the kitchen to greet Ash's friends, who were like her pseudo-children by now.

"Hi Mrs. Ketchum," they both said as Delia hugged them tightly.

"Ash is still asleep huh?" Misty asked, already knowing the answer to her question. They all just chuckled a bit in response which Misty took as a yes.

"Anything we miss?" Brock asked as he set down his stuff, "Nothing too big seems to have happened while we were away..." Dawn outright laughed at his statement.

"Oh boy...If only," Dawn said with a sigh. Misty and Brock raised their eyebrows in curiosity, both wondering what Dawn was referring to.

'We'll tell you about it later,' Latias said, 'I'll go wake up Ash and tell him you guys are here.' They nodded, and Latias climbed the stairs, leaving the three behind to catch up. She also decided to fetch Kirlia and Riolu, knowing that it was important for them to be there also.

"So, what happened?" Brock asked Dawn, not really wanting to wait for Ash to wake up, seeing as that could take ages. Dawn wanted to keep quiet about it, but she wasn't all that great at keeping secrets, especially hilarious and embarrassing ones.

"What do you mean? Like Ash has to save the world again? Or like what happened between Ash and Latias?" Dawn responded without thinking. She blinked rapidly for a second, and shut her mouth quickly, blushing a bit for spilling so quickly. Dawn wasn't really worried about Misty's immediate reaction. On the other hand...

"WHAT! What happened between Latias and Ash! I want to know! Did he finally ask her out? Are they a couple now? No way! Did they kiss? Are they..." Brock rambled on without pause, continually barraging Dawn with question after question after question.

"BROCK!" Dawn yelled while covering her ears, silencing the over-excited rising breeder, "Nothing THAT big happened..."

"Oh ho ho! But something did happen right?" Brock answered, fully intending on prying the details out of his male friend later. Dawn sweat dropped, giving up on trying to calm Brock down. She instead looked toward Misty who seemed to be a bit less than pleased to say the least. Dawn gave her a sympathetic smile, knowing what she was feeling.

"So what was the whole deal with Ash having the save the world again?" Misty asked sharply, cutting off Brock's continued tirade.

"Something about orbs and corruption and some other stuff. Ash can tell...well really, show you more," Dawn answered, really feeling like she had already said a bit too much. Just then, Ash and Latias could be heard coming down. "Speaking of Ash, here he is."

Ash yawned tiredly and rubbed his eyes as he entered the room, attempting to get the remaining dregs of sand out of his eyes. He smiled as he finally noticed his two old friends whom had just returned, and he went forward to envelope them both in a tight hug. Kirlia flounced down the stairs happily after, leading Riolu by his paw, who seemed to still be half asleep, descending the stairs in a zombie-like state.

"Glad that you guys are finally back! We've got a lot to tell you guys," Ash said in the hug, letting go as he said the last lines, "I'll be right back." He ran upstairs to get ready for the day, and he was back almost as soon as he went up, dressed and ready to go.

"Hey..." Misty said, beginning to get extremely impatient. She wasn't one to enjoy secrets being kept from her. "Can you tell us what's going on already?"

Ash chuckled, wondering how he could ever forget how impatient Misty could be.

"Alright alright, calm down a bit. I'll tell you guys everything," Ash said as he lead them outside, deciding to soak in the beautiful day.

The young trainers and pokemon were lead to that fateful open field that still showed signs of a furious battle with burns scarring the ground, torn up grass and fallen, ravaged trees, but as they sat down, only the soothing, soft wind could be heard whistling through the trees.

"Alright," Ash said stepping back,"One sec, let me just change." Immediately, his form morphed. Brock and Misty had almost forgotten that Ash had turned into a pokemon all those weeks ago and were slightly surprised, but only just. 'Ready guys?' They nodded, and Ash spread his psych to encompass them and create a mental link with Latias' aid as before. Within moments, Misty and Brock were sent barreling through Ash's sea of memories as they caught wisps and flashes of the past few days. Ash, with all of his will, was trying his best to filter out most of the embarrassing segments of his memories. It was mostly working, but he was sure that his two friends had caught little tidbits of them. He would have to deal with that later. Soon, the vision ended, telling all that Misty and Brock needed to know.

"Shesh Ash! Why do you always have to get into so much trouble," Misty said putting her hands up in disbelief. "How in the world do you expect to pull this off! I mean, the orbs could be anywhere! From the top of the sky to the bottom of the oceans!"

'Well I have to try,' Ash countered fiercely, never one to ever give up. 'Besides, once I master my Aura, I'll be able to locate where the remaining orbs are. I'm not going to give up, and I'm going to do this.' Brock smiled, glad that Ash was just so stubborn. There really wasn't anyone better to send on an almost impossible mission to save the world.

"Well if you're going out there Ash, I'm heading out with ya," Brock said, slinging his arm onto the Black Latios' back, "You guys wouldn't make it a week out there without me anyway. In fact, you and Misty would most likely kill each other if I permanently left, though I'm sure you gave Tracy a run for his money." Ash laughed, knowing just how true that was. Misty folded her arms as she smiled also.

"Yeah. But I'll be coming too, to make sure you don't screw it up. Arceus knows that you need us," Misty said with a grin. Ash smiled back.

'Wouldn't want it any other way,' Ash replied happily, 'With you guys, Latias, Dawn, Kirlia, Riolu, Pikachu and all our pokemon, I'm sure we can do it!'

"Well what are we waiting for then!" Misty said, realizing that there was such a short time to travel all the way to the Tree of Beginning, which was on the outer fringes of the Kanto region, near the mountains, "We don't got any more time to lose! We've got to get ready and leave today!" They all quickly walked back to the house to retrieve their things in preparation for their latest journey.

"Everyone's packed...except for Ash that is..." Dawn said as she rolled her eyes, knowing just how the trainer was. Ash was about to counter when his mother suddenly intervened.

"Actually, I took the liberty of doing it for Ash. I knew he'd forget," Delia said with a smile, causing Ash to groan, but he thanked his mother anyway, glad that she had packed for him, "Stay safe honey. And make sure you wear clean...un..."

"MOM!" Ash shrieked, as he lightly blushed, "I know already..." She smiled as she gave her son a quick kiss goodbye. He nodded as he turned to his friends, indicating that he was ready to go, slinging his backpack on. "Everyone ready?"

"Yup!" they all said in unison, and they headed for the door, saying their goodbyes and 'thank you's to Mrs. Ketchum. Ash moved to open the door, when a sudden knock resounded through the house. He paused for a second, slightly surprised, but opened the door to reveal a very worried looking Professor Oak.

"Professor Oak," Ash said while noticing the visible amount of concern on the professor's face, "What's wrong?" The old professor seemed to be somewhat out of breath, allowing Ash to draw the conclusion that he had, most likely, ran over here from the lab.

"Bulba...saur and Muk," Professor Oak said slowly in between breaths, "Sick...not looking well."

"Whaaa? What's wrong!" Ash asked quickly, worried about his friends.

"Here you better look for yourself," the Professor said as he hurried back to his lab with everyone else following him, all wondering what could have suddenly caused Bulbasaur and Muk to become ill.

* * *

In the nearby bushes

"Brilliant!" a very cat-like voice said, "When dos brats are busy wit Bulbasaur and Muk, we goes in and takes Pikachu!" He laughed manically at his so-called genius plan. "Team Rocket will finally win!"

"Yeah! And with our new super-charged pokemon, the twerps don't stand a chance!" Jessie said with a mad cackle, "Our Poison-types are super-charged while theirs are weakened. There isn't anyway we can mess this one up!" James sighed.

"Isn't that what we always say? Then it just ends up blowing up in our faces...almost literally every time?" James said as he stared out into the sky, his mind wandering to how many times he had actually been up there. Jessie and Meowth sweat dropped, knowing just how true that was.

"Well we have the advantage this time! We can do it!" Jessie countered, trying her best to sound enthusiastic about their next pika-napping attempt.

"Yeah...we always say that too..." James responded sadly, "How long have we been at this? Five years now? What have we even accomplished?" The three Rockets all sighed in unison.

"Look. There's no point in looking at the past!" Jessie said as she psyched herself and her team up, "What matters is what we can do now! So let's get to it!"

"Yeah!" Meowth answered, "Better to try than to just give up!"

"Right!" James said, as he cast away his doubts. "After all! We're Team Rocket!"

* * *

At Professor Oak's Lab

Ash entered the lab's backyard quickly, completely overtaking all of his friends and Professor Oak, to find Bulbasaur in a completely exhausted state, lying down on the grass in a spread position. He then looked towards Muk; Muk looked even worse than Bulbasaur, given his looks already of course.

"A...sh" Bulbasaur coughed out, "Something...not right."

"What's wrong Bulbasaur?" Ash asked, needing to know what was wrong with his friend who looked almost close to death. He slowly petted his pokemon, trying his best to comfort him. Strangely enough, as soon as Ash touched Bulbasaur, a bright blue light enveloped the small seed pokemon. Once the light had subsided, Bulbasaur felt strangely better. He hopped up on his feet, much to Ash's surprise.

"What was that all about?" Bulbasaur asked, looking around extremely confused, "Well whatever it was, I feel sooooo much better." Ash didn't know what to think. He was glad that Bulbasaur was feeling suddenly better, but he was extremely confused as to why.

"Ash! Slow down!" Misty said, finally catching up, as the rest of the crew brought up the rear.

"How's Bulbasaur doing?" Professor Oak asked as he crouched down next to Ash to get a better look at the previously sick grass and poison-type. Professor Oak was taken aback as he noticed the seemingly healthy look on Bulbasaur's face. "Well! He sure didn't look like this a minute ago. I can assure you that. He looked worse than a rose stuck in a desert without water. What happened?"

"I honestly don't know..." Ash responded slowly, "He honestly looked really sick when I arrived. But then for some reason, when I started petting him, a blue light sort of covered him, and then he was all better." Professor Oak looked skeptical about the description that Ash was giving him. The rest of them also didn't really buy his story.

"Hey it's true!" Bulbasaur said in his trainer's defense, "I was feeling like someone was trying to tear me in half, and then suddenly, when Ash started petting me, the feeling went away." Ash and Latias were quick to translate for the poke-deaf humans.

"Interesting..." Professor Oak responded. The old professor then thought of a way to test it. "Ash why don't you try it on poor ole' Muk over there. Hopefully it will work and answer some questions." Ash nodded and walked over to the puddle of sludge that was supposed to be Muk.

"How you doing buddy?" Ash asked tentatively as he crouched down to observed his old friend. Muk groaned in response. "Alright hold on. Hopefully this will cure you." Ash lightly touched the edge of the sludge puddle, and as soon as he did, that same brilliant blue light spread from his finger tips to encompass the entire puddle. Within moments, Muk sprang up from the ground and immediately hugged his trainer in thanks. "Yeah..you're...welcome...Muk," Ash said as he tried to not get suffocated.

"Remarkable," Professor Oak said, "I wonder how you were able to heal Bulbasaur and Muk. But an even greater question is why were they, and only they, sick in the first place...What do they have in common that would cause only them, and not all of your other pokemon, to suddenly become ill..." They all tried to figure out why only Bulbasaur and Muk would become sick. They definitely didn't have the same body structures or systems for that matter or anything else really, except for one thing.

'I got it!' Latias said, 'They are both Poison-types! Or at least part.' Professor Oak blinked rapidly, and a slow smile spread across his face.

"Brilliant! That has got to be it!" Professor Oak answered, "Just wait here a moment. I'm going to go check up on some of the other poison-type pokemon I'm holding." He quickly ran into the lab to retrieve some of the other stored pokemon.

"What could cause only Bulbasaur and Muk to suddenly become ill. They seemed fine just yesterday," Dawn said, extremely worried the possibility that other pokemon would suddenly become ill.

"Well lets think about this," Brock said, "Muk and Bulbasaur are both Poison-types. When they suddenly touched Ash, they were healed from their unusual bout of sickness. And they only connection between them is that they have poison-typing. So, how does that connect them and their sickness?" They all thought about all possible causes, and after a few moments, Latias came up with the answer once again.

'The orbs!' Latias answered pleased with herself, 'If one is corrupted the type that it is would be affected negatively. And Bulbasaur and Muk are both poison-types so it has to be the Poison Aura Orb!'

"That makes sense!" Brock responded, "From what I gathered from Ash's visions, any pokemon with ties to a certain orb type are specifically affected." Brock suddenly thought of something, he took one of his pokeballs off of his belt and threw it, releasing his pokemon inside. "This should confirm our suspicions." As the light faded, a Brock's Croagunk was left croaking indifferently. "How are you feeling Croagunk?"

"Dunnno. A bit dizzy and lightheaded mostly," Croagunk croaked out slowly, which was quickly relayed from Ash to Brock.

"Alright one sec then. We need to test something," Brock said, as he motioned towards Ash, "Go ahead Ash." Ash nodded and placed his hand on Croagunk's head. At the instant Ash touched Croagunk, the same blue light engulfed the poison and fighting-type.

"Weird..." Croagunk said as he looked around a bit confused, "I suddenly feel much better now."

"That confirms it," Brock concluded, "Someone has corrupted the Poison Aura Orb."

"But we still don't know who! Gahhh! Whoever is doing this is going to pay for hurting all of these pokemon!" Dawn said in frustration. "It was probably the same person who corrupted the Normal Aura Orb too! But who!"

"It could be..." Ash started but was suddenly interrupted, as the sound of metal grinding against metal barraged their ears and the sounds of Pikachu's cries for help resounded through the air. Ash suddenly turned around to see his best friend gone and in the grasp of the usual poke-nappers "Team Rocket!"

"Muhahahah That's right! Prepare for trouble! We've got Pikachu!" Jessie said as she held a claw with Pikachu stuck fast in it.

"And make sure to make it double! There's no chance for you!" James responded with a mad cackle as he held a remote in his left hand.

"To show our new strengths and abilities!" Jessie said.

"To beat the twerps in these here facilities!" James added, as he pressed the button.

"To denounce the evils of being unsuccessful!" Jessie said.

"To extend our reach and be all powerful!" James said.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blast off with our new-found power!" Jessie announced as a huge mechanical Ekans appeared from behind James from underneath the Earth, tossing up bits of stone and dirt into the air, forcing Ash and his friends to cover their eyes to prevent themselves from being blinded by the tossed up debris.

"So surrender now because this will be our finest hour!" James announced with a mad laugh, as Pikachu valiantly struggled in the metal-claw's grip, sending out high levels of electricity only in vain as the power just diffused through the strange metal as expected.

"Meowth! Better hurry before our luck turns sour!" Meowth yelled from inside of the mechanical Ekan's left eye.

"You guys just don't know when to give up!" Misty yelled. Jessie just stuck her tongue out in response.

"There's no way for you twerps to defeat us this time! We've got some new tricks up our sleeves," James said confidently.

"We'll see about that!" Brock said, "Go Croagunk! Brick Break!" Croagunk rushed forward to attack the poke-nappers, but Jessie reacted quickly.

"Seviper! You use Poison Tail!" Jessie smoothly commanded, as her Seviper appeared from it's pokeball and rushed forward to intercept Croagunk. The fang snake pokemon's tail smashed into Croagunk's fist and without effort, launched Croagunk into the nearby wall, creating a large wall hole in the shape of the toxic mouth pokemon. Brock was flabbergasted.

"That's not possible! Brick Break is a higher power move. Croagunk is a higher level, and that was a Poison-type move that shouldn't have been very effective at all! How could your Seviper knock him away so easily!" Brock said, aghast. Although, he did secretly admit to himself that Croagunk's attack wouldn't have been that effective either, but he banked on the fact that Seviper was usually such a weak opponent.

"Hahahhahahha!" Jessie said manically, "Secrets. Things you couldn't possibly understand with your puny mind of course! You might as well give up now!" Seviper too mocked Brock and Croagunk, hissing in provocation. Croagunk slowly crawled out of his wall hole and jumped back into battle, however, he looked extremely worn from that one attack.

"Are you okay Croagunk?" Brock asked, receiving a small nod from the toxic mouth pokemon, "Good. We're not letting them get away with this." Dawn, Misty, Ash, Latias, Kirlia and Riolu were tired of watching, however.

"We'll be right behind you Brock!" they all said. Misty called out Golduck. Dawn used Mamoswine, and Ash decided on teaming up with Latias, both of them transforming into their Lati forms. Kirlia and Riolu took their fighting stances, prepared to attack the thieves.

"Ha! Well take this then!" Jessie said, "Arbok! You come out too!" Soon another snake-like pokemon joined the other. "Let's do this Arbok! Just like old times!" Arbok nodded, so happy to be back with its first master.

"Hey! Wait for me too!" James said, "I choose you! Weezing!" The extremely familiar poison gas pokemon appeared in front of James, ready to help his closest friends once again.

Team Rocket had run into their old friends on their way back to Kanto from their secret meeting with the boss. They had no idea how Weezing and Arbok had returned to Kanto, but they didn't question it and instead welcomed them back happily. Later on that same day, Meowth had told them that Arbok and Weezing had been able to effectively teach the captive pokemon, many of which had evolved into Arboks and Weezing themselves, back on Hoenn to defend themselves, and had made their way back to their home, Kanto, after they had felt like their job was done. They had been searching for Jessie and James for almost two years now, and they were over-joyed to have found them.

"Hey look! It's Arbok and Weezing!" Misty and Brock said, feeling somewhat nostalgic, "We haven't seen them in years! What did you guys do with them?"

"None of your business!" Jessie and James yelled, not wanting them to find out that they had actually released them to help other pokemon, many years ago.

"Well either way, you guys are going down!" Misty said, "Golduck! Let's go! Hydro Pump!" Golduck fired a huge column of water that spiraled toward the three Team Rocket pokemon, intent on scoring a direct hit.

"Not so fast!" James said, "Weezing quick! Use Sludge to break that attack and attack Golduck at the same time!" Weezing let lose a horrid flurry of rancid sludge towards the column of water, and to Misty's great surprise, the attack completely obliterated the Hydro Pump and slammed into Golduck, who was immediately knocked out due to the strangely overpowered Sludge attack.

"What!" Misty exclaimed, "That's impossible!" She quickly ran over to her defeated pokemon, making sure that he was okay. Golduck was showing signs of being seriously poisoned, and she quickly moved him to shelter, grabbing an antidote from her bag, leaving only Ash, Latias, Brock and Dawn left.

"My turn!" Dawn said fiercely, "Mamoswine! Use Ice Shard Bomb!" Mamoswine, quickly combined his Hidden Power and Ice Shard, creating his very powerful combination attack, and launched it directly at Arbok.

"Yawn!" Jessie said as she made a little side-note on some of Dawn's very innovative combinations, eager to adapt them to her own style, " Arbok, let's show them a real combination. Use Poison Sting and Acid!" Arbok let loose a deluge of steaming, corrosive acid that was impregnated with needle thin Poison Sting missiles that sped forward and smashed into the frozen Hidden Power attack from Mamoswine, disabling all of it's effectiveness by causing it to explode in mid-air. But it was not done yet, the needle thin attacks easily pierced through the Ice Shard Bombs and continued, shooting directly into Mamoswine venomously. The accompanying Acid attack soon caught up, increasing the damage done by the piecing Poison Stings by seeping into the wounds created by the first attack.

Mamoswine went down on one knee, the damage from Arbok's attacks seriously taking their toll. He tried his best to get back up on his legs, but the sheer amount of poison that ran through his body over took him. He collapsed, unable to control his extremities due to the debilitating poison that was slowly circulating though his body.

"No Mamoswine!" Dawn cried out as she quickly returned her pokemon and rushed to where Misty had gone off to, hoping that Misty had more than one antidote on her. She didn't even want to think about the possibility that there wasn't another antidote. Brock didn't know what to do. Croagunk had already taken substantial damage, and after witnessing the outcomes of Misty and Dawn, he didn't want to put his other pokemon in danger either.

"Ash! Latias!" Brock called out to the two floating eon dragons who were currently attempting to retrieve Pikachu without much success.

'Yeah Brock?' Ash asked as he swerved to the side, avoiding an Acid attack from Arbok.

"No matter how strong their pokemon are now, they are still weak to psychic attacks! It's up to you guys!" Brock yelled, knowing that Latias and Ash were their only hope now. They nodded in understanding.

"Ha! There's still no hopes for ya's," Meowth taunted, "Our's pokemon are supa-charged! There ain't no ways you can defeat em now! Haha." Jessie and James laughed along with Meowth, believing that they had finally done it and defeated the twerps. Ash promptly ignored them.

"Hey! We want to help too!" Kirlia and Riolu called out from below as Kirlia countered a Poison Sting attack with her Light Screen. Ash debated on whether or not to put Kirlia and Riolu in danger, but the two small pokemon were adamant in helping out.

'Okay fine. Latias use Mist Ball and provide some cover. I'll go in with a Giga Impact. Riolu get in there and use Earthquake to shake them down. And Kirlia use a Psychic blast to finish it off,' Ash told them. Latias nodded and quickly gathered her psychic energy into her special attack, a blue ball of energy forming at her side. Riolu and Kirlia prepared their assault, waiting for the cover of the mist to mask their advances.

"Ha! Bring it on!" Jessie said confidently, "We'll take all of your attacks! And then we'll still win and take Pikachu!" Latias, at that precise moment, launched the attack directly in the center of Arbok, Weezing and Seviper. The ball of psychic energy smashed into the ground and exploded in a psychic mist that was slowly sapping Team Rocket's pokemon's strength while providing cover for Ash who swooped in with his Giga Impact. He entered the psychic mist from the other side and struggled a bit as he used his Aura to located Team Rocket's pokemon. He succeeded, though only barely, and smashed into all of the enemy poison-types. At the exact moment he collided into each of them, he noticed that the same strange blue light was given off from each of Team Rocket's pokemon behind him, but he didn't have time to ponder it as he heard Riolu and Kirlia's attacks slam into Weezing, Seviper and Arbok. The Black Latios backed away and let the smoke clear. As the dust settled, he smiled with satisfaction. Arbok, Weezing and Seviper had been thrown onto their trainers, swirly eyed and knocked out.

"What! This is impossible!" Jessie said as she tried to get the two snake-like pokemon off of her, "We were super-charged and were guaranteed that nothing would be able to stop us!"

"Well your guarantee obviously was false," Brock answered back, "So give us Pikachu, and maybe, we'll let you walk away without being blasted off."

"Never!" Jessie responded back, venomously, "We still have some tricks up our sleeves, "Meowth! Do it!"

"Here we go twerps! Get though this!" Meowth said as he pressed a large button inside of the mechanical Ekans. The large purple mecha opened it's mouth, and before Ash and his friends could do anything to counter, it let out a thick stream of black Haze that instantly blinded Ash and his friends from Team Rocket. It also spread over the entire laboratory, disabling any help from the other pokemon residing there. The thick smoke was also slowly choking them, and they had no way to get rid of it.

'You guys won't get away with this!' Ash yelled out telepathically, as he was coughing, trying his best to hold out. 'Don't worry Pikachu! I'll save you!'

"Forget about it twerp! You lost! And we finally did it! We beat the twerps!" Team Rocket said happily as they hopped into their giant mechanical Ekans and dug into the earth with their quarry, escaping Ash and his friends.

"We got ...to...do something...about this smoke..." Brock coughed out agonizingly from below, but none of them could do anything about it as the smoke continued to suffocate all of the pokemon and humans there.

'Someone please help us!' Ash mentally yelled out, praying for someone to come and rescue them from the thick and horrible smog that threatened to overtake them all.

* * *

Dun dun dun! Muahahah! Yup it's one of my infamous cliffies!

Don't worry guys! You'll be able to see the outcome soon! ;) I promise that you won't be waiting for an agonizingly long time for this next update! :D

On the other hand!

For those of you who thoroughly enjoyed the last chapter, here is some deviant art and comics from Dark-Wing-Blader 

(Just get rid of the spaces or alternatively go to my profile and click the links. Enjoy!)

**Black Latios RAAAA (Ash Scaring Gary)**

http : / / dark - gecko5 . deviantart . com / art / Black - latios - RAAAA - 272451143

**Chapter 16 Comic **

http : / / dark -gecko5 . deviantart . com /art /black -latios -just -a -towel -1 -272449222** (Pt1)**

http : / / dark -gecko5 . deviantart . com /art /black -latios -just -a -towel -2 -272449873** (Pt2)**

http : / / dark -gecko5 . deviantart . com /art /black -latios -just -a -towel -3 -272450086** (Pt3)**

Well that's all for now! See you guys really soon! Please read and review!

-Mekon


	19. Ch18: Let's Fly!

**DISCLAIMER**

My ownership like trying to catch all of the original 151 pokemon in only Pokemon Yellow. Without cheats of course.

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

**A/N**

**My rant on Sopa and Pipa will now be placed on my profile page. Thank you to everyone who read it. Thanks to everyone here on the web, we were able to defend the freedom of speech and the freedom of the internet. **

**-**Mekon

* * *

Last Time:

"_What! This is impossible!" Jessie said as she tried to get the two snake-like pokemon off of her, "We were super-charged and were guaranteed that nothing would be able to stop us!"_

"_Well your guarantee obviously was false," Brock answered back, "So give us Pikachu, and maybe, we'll let you walk away without being blasted off." _

"_Never!" Jessie responded back, venomously, "We still have some tricks up our sleeves, "Meowth! Do it!" _

"_Here we go twerps! Get though this!" Meowth said as he pressed a large button inside of the mechanical Ekans. The large purple mecha opened it's mouth, and before Ash and his friends could do anything to counter, it let out a thick stream of black Haze that instantly blinded Ash and his friends from Team Rocket. It also spread over the entire laboratory, disabling any help from the other pokemon residing there. The thick smoke was also slowly choking them, and they had no way to get rid of it._

_'You guys won't get away with this!' Ash yelled out telepathically, as he was coughing, trying his best to hold out. 'Don't worry Pikachu! I'll save you!'_

"_Forget about it twerp! You lost! And we finally did it! We beat the twerps!" Team Rocket said happily as they hopped into their giant mechanical Ekans and dug into the earth with their quarry, escaping Ash and his friends. _

"_We got ...to...do something...about this smoke..." Brock coughed out agonizingly from below, but none of them could do anything about it as the smoke continued to suffocate all of the pokemon and humans there. _

_'Someone please help us!' Ash mentally yelled out, praying for someone to come and rescue them from the thick and horrible smog that threatened to overtake them all._

* * *

Ch18: Let's Fly!

Violent coughing and hacking was all that could be heard through the black cloud of smoke that now covered Professor Oak's lab, relentlessly attacking the lungs of every living thing that it held in its gassy grasp.

Ash didn't know what to do. He couldn't concentrate hard enough to disperse the smoke with his psychic powers, and he couldn't move due to the strange immobilizing smoke that left him with no control over any of his extremities. His vision started to blacken, and his head began to spin and sink as the smoke continued suffocating him. Ash kept trying to save everyone, but to no avail. All he could do now was hope for a miracle.

Seconds stretched into lifetimes. It looked like was all over for them, but suddenly a strong breeze accompanied by the sound of strong flapping, blew away the smoke, letting everyone breathe in wonderful fresh air. Ash coughed out the rest of the smoke in his lungs and rubbed his watering eyes, trying his best to rub out all of the soot and smoke that still lingered in his eyes. He slowly looked up, his eyes sill red and scratchy. Ash couldn't believe his eyes as he laid them on their savior.

"Pidgeot!" Ash coughed out, some smoke still savagely attacking his lungs and throat. Pidgeot balked in confusion. She heard Ash's voice, but she didn't see her old trainer anywhere. To make things even more confusing, she heard the voice coming form a flying black colored dragon pokemon, which by instinct, she could tell was probably a powerful legendary. She flew down to the ground first to double check on her old friends, making sure that they were fine. Within moments, the black and red dragons descended and landed in front of Pidgeot.

"Uh...who...are you guys?" Pidgeot asked, a bit wary of the legendary that had just addressed her.

"Oh right! One second!" Ash said, forgetting that he was in his Black Latios form, and that Pidgeot had never met him in that form. Pidgeot watched with extreme curiosity and surprise as the legendary pokemon became covered in a mysterious blue light, and as soon as it faded away, Ash was there.

"What...in the name...of..." Pidgeot started, but was stopped by a sudden hug from her old trainer. She quickly returned his hug, enveloping him him in her large wings. Suddenly, another strange blue light engulfed Pidgeot, identical to the ones that had shined from Bulbasaur, Muk, and the other Team Rocket pokemon. "I'm so confused...and I feel lighter..."

"I'll explain everything! Don't worry! But we have to go save Pikachu first!" Ash said as he looked towards the large hole in the ground, "Latias! Riolu! Kirlia! Let's go!" Ash said as he hopped into the hole. They nodded and followed after Ash, wanting to help save their friend.

"Hey! Wait for us!" Misty yelled as she started running after Ash with Brock right behind her.

"Geez...Team Rocket are still after Pikachu huh?" Pidgeot asked, but her question was unheard as she noticed that they had all already jumped into the hole to chase after Team Rocket. "Hey! Wait for me!" She dived in after them, hoping to reach them before they blasted Team Rocket off into the sky.

* * *

"Latias, can you make some light with Dragonbreath and Psychic please?" Ash asked to combat the darkness and cold while they ran down the tunnel to chase down Team Rocket. Latias quickly obliged, and Ash took one himself. Kirlia followed their lead and created her own light with Will-O-Wisp.

'I hope that Pikachu is okay,' Latias said as she flew down the tunnel after Ash, the sound of the tunneling machine beginning to drown out all of the noise in the earthy tunnel.

'He'll be fine,' Ash responded telepathically, knowing that trying to speak over the sound would be an extremely difficult task. He ran harder though, wanting to make sure that Pikachu was indeed okay. They were getting closer now, the sounds of the machine starting to hammer away at their ears, and the light of their torches glinting off of the cold metal up ahead. He saw the machine that housed Team Rocket and his Pikachu, and noticed what looked like a series of grooved wedges that were rotating at extreme speeds around the tail of the machine and most likely the rest of the machine, pushing aside the loose earth like a swimmer pushing through the water effortlessly.

'We have to get the machine to surface,' Latias said, knowing that saving Pikachu would be almost impossible from their current position under the ground and behind the machine.

'How?' Ash asked as they kept moving down the tunnel, dodging bits of dirt and rock that were flung their way as Team Rocket's machine forged ahead, completely unaware of the fact that they had the twerps on their tail.

'Maybe if we cause some damage to the machine, Team Rocket will think something went wrong and surface to try to fix the "problem",' Latias suggested.

'Great idea! Let's try to take out those rotating wedges! That should do it,' Ash said, knowing that those wedges were definitely important to the machine. He was about to issue an attack command when suddenly, another voice filled his head.

'Hold on guys!' Kirlia said, communicating by telepathy to them for the first time, 'Riolu and I could get in there first so we can grab Pikachu when the machine surfaces. Riolu nodded in agreement, thinking that would be a smart plan to ensure that Pikachu made it out safely.

'Do it. I believe in you guys,' Ash said, knowing that he was pinning a lot of his hopes on Kirlia and Riolu to get his best friend back safe and sound. Riolu scouted ahead, trying to "see" through the blackness of the cave with his Aura. Flashes of shapes and images flitted through his mind, and he tried his best to concentrate on those shapes, attempting to sift through them to get a better understanding of the machine up ahead. He only saw it for a moment, but that was just enough to let him know that there was a small hatch that they could use to infiltrate the machine.

Riolu quickly gestured for Kirlia to hop on his back, as as soon as he did he sped forward, getting right up to the back of the tail. Riolu grinned as he came up the hatch as expected. Taking a huge leap, he smashed down on the hatch with his Blaze Kick, easily heating up the metal enough to give way to the force of his foot, allowing Riolu and Kirlia to easily infiltrate Team Rocket's machine.

'Let's go! Latias you know what to do,' Ash said as he began gathering energy for his Aura Sphere attack.

Latias attacked first, firing off her powerful Dragonbreath directly at the metal of the digging wedges, drastically heating them up to where they glowed an eerie red in the darkness of the tunnel. She watched with satisfaction as the metal began to melt and rapidly cool as they hit the cold air, deforming it to a point where they completely stopped causing the sounds of screeching metal scraping horribly against the metal hull echo through the tunnel. Ash grimaced as his ears began to curl back in disapproval, and he quickly fired his Aura Sphere at the now broken digging rotors. He smiled as the Aura Sphere smashed into the gears, completely obliterating them. The machine began to steadily pull up and out of the tunnels, and Ash knew that it was only moments before he would have Pikachu back.

* * *

_Inside of the Mecha_

"MEOWTH!" Jessie screeched angrily, as a flashing red light paired with the sounds of a constant alarm beeping on and off attacked her senses. She wondered why they had even bothered to put in such an annoying alarm system. "What did you do!"

"You know the answer every time is NOTHING!" Meowth exclaimed as he began pressing buttons on the dash to assess the damage, "Something caused the back motor to jam! If we don't get up to da surface right now, the rocks and dirt could build up. And the entrance to da tunnel is probably collapsed by now. We could be stuck down 'ere forever!"

"For...foreverrrr?" James shrilled, extremely scared of the idea of being stuck underground for long periods of time, "GET US OUT NOW!" Meowth was already on it. He manually shut off the annoying alarm and drove the mechanical Ekans slowly towards the surface.

"Once we get to da surface, we can figure out what happened to da back motors," Meowth said, completely calm, "There's a spare somewhere in the back. So we'll be out of this in no sweat." James and Jessie were a bit skeptical about that, however.

"Well what could have caused it?" Jessie asked, quite sure that this sort of thing was not coincidental, given their past experiences.

"Eh...the possibilities are endless. We coulda hit a big rock or some tree roots or some kind of ore vein in the ground." Meowth said, "Don't worry dat much. We'll we on the surface in a second."

"You guys are really stupid..." an annoyed voice said from above the door to the entrance of the cockpit, "It's probably Ash or something."

"Whatever Pikachu," Meowth said over his shoulder, "You're just trying to frazzle us. Ain't no way that dem twerps made it out'a dere. That Haze attack should have completely paralyzed them." Pikachu sighed from the small metal cage that he was currently being held in, hoping that Meowth was completely wrong. Instinctively, his left ear twitched as his ears detected the clear ringing sounds of clanging metal resonate through the machine. He grinned knowing it would only be a matter of time till he would be free of Team Rocket again. "Alright! Approaching the surface now!" Finally, the resistance of the Earth faded away as the machine broke the surface, finding only air now to block its way. Meowth cleared away the residual dirt and with every piece that was thrown away, blinding rays of sunlight flooded into the cockpit.

"Ahh...What a beautiful day to be an evil-doer," Jessie sighed out as she soaked in the invigorating rays of sunlight, euphoric after their recent unprecedented success. Her state of serenity was short-lived, however, as a forceful explosion rocked the machine violently back and forth.

"WHAT WAS DAT!" Meowth exclaimed. Briefly, he skimmed over the dashboard sisplace and gasped. "Yikes! We actually lost one of the major motors! We got some significant damage on da hull too!" Meowth quickly took the controls and began turning the enormous machine around to get a visual on their attacks. He knew that this could not be a mere coincidence. Sluggishly, the damaged machine turned around a full 180 degrees, and Team Rocket was not pleased to discover the cause of the damage.

"TWERPS!" All three of them yelled out in disbelief, believing only moments before that they had been completely successful in ridding themselves of their enemies. "HOW?"

"Help from friends of course," Ash said with a smirk as he gestured to Pidgeot who was comfortably hovering just to the right of Ash, ready for action.

"GAAAHHH! Not fair!" Jessie screeched, unable to believe just how lucky Ash and his friends always seemed to be, "We got our old pokemon first! Stop stealing our ideas! We're the ones that are supposed to be doing the stealing!" They all rolled their eyes, expecting nothing less from Team Rocket and their usual antics.

'Remember guys. We need to keep them as distracted for as long as possible,' Ash said to his friends telepathically to avoid detection. It would fall to Kirlia and Riolu to rescue Pikachu. They needed to give them as much time as possible.

"Not a problem," Misty said with a smirk, calling forth her trusty Gyarados, whose appearance was promptly accomplished by the girlish scream of James. "Let's cause some havoc Gyarados!" Gyarados grinned, or at least that what Misty thought he was doing. Nevertheless, she could tell that he approved immensely. And immediately Gyarados did what he did best. He started raging around the entire field, spewing Flamethrowers and Hydro Pumps all over the place as he Thrashed around on the field chaotically. "Keep it up Gyarados! You're doing great!" Ash waited patiently as Team Rocket attempted to deal with the "rogue" Gyarados without much success, hoping that Kirlia and Riolu were close to rescuing Pikachu.

* * *

_Inside the Mecha_

"How are you doing Kirlia?" Riolu asked as they moved further down the metal hallway.

"Can't say I'm all that thrilled to be back in one of these things..."Kirlia said, the memories from her past experiences in one of Team Rocket's machines still fresh in her mind.

"Don't worry Kirlia. We'll be out of here in no time. Just stay close to me," Riolu whispered, understanding just how hard it was for Kirlia. "We'll rescue Pikachu, and then we'll get out of here as soon as possible...now...the first thing is to find Pikachu," he finished, having stated their main problem at the moment. They had searched high and low in the back of mecha, where they were sure that Pikachu would have usually been held, but they hadn't found a single trace of the electric-mouse pokemon anywhere. "Shesh...where else could these idiots be holding Pikachu?"

"Well the only place we haven't looked yet is the cockpit," Kirlia said, "Though what kind of idiots keep their prisoners in the cockpit?" Riolu chuckled to himself, knowing that if anyone would, it would be Team Rocket.

"Might as well check. It couldn't hurt, and given that it is Team Rocket, Pikachu probably is somewhere around there," Riolu said, as he began leading them to the main control center at the front of the machine. Suddenly, as he began climbing the stairs to the cockpit, a sudden ferocious roaring could be heard from the other side of the metal hull. Tremors, which Kirlia and Riolu easily attributed to whoever or whatever was currently roaring, vibrated effortlessly through the metal floor of the machine, causing everything in the mecha to buzz and hum. Riolu and Kirlia paused for a moment, as the sounds of Jame's shriek echoed through the machine; they grinned, extremely amused. "Perfect timing...let's go." They hurried up the stairs and pressed their backs against the walls just around the corner of the door, slowly moving their heads around the corner to see what was going on.

They came across a panicked Team Rocket and a very angry Gyarados in the windshield.

"D...do...do something Meowth! Get it away!" James screeched, unable to look at the enormous atrocious pokemon. Meowth was already trying, firing off rockets, flamethrowers, punches and anything else they had. None of it was working.

"Pikachu's not here either!" Riolu whispered, "Where in Arceus' name could..."

"PSTTT!" Pikachu a voice interrupted from above, causing Riolu and Kirlia to bend their heads upwards towards the door frame, finally seeing the small metal cage that had been positioned directly above them. "UP HERE!"

"What the..." Riolu started, "Just forget it...How do we get you out of there Piakchu?" Riolu could tell that it was just too small and compact to be able to break, so their only option was to find the escape mechanism.

"Over there," Pikachu said, pointing to a small button, directly to the left of Jessie, whose hair was precariously hanging over it.

"Brilliant..." Riolu muttered, "How are we supposed to get there without them noticing..." Kirlia shook her head, and pushed Riolu behind her for a moment.

"Just watch," Kirlia said as she focused her psych while her eyes grew a neon blue. Riolu watched with satisfaction as Jessie's hair became possessed by Kirlia's Psychic and pushed the button for them. A small click later, and Pikachu happily hopped onto the floor.

"JAMES! Stop pulling my hair!" Jessie screeched, having no trouble whatsoever detecting the tugging on her skull.

"It's not me!" James protested from across Meowth, "I was over here the entire time!"

"Will you two's stop your yapping! It's not gonna help us get rid of this overgrown fish!" Meowth said as he turned to Jessie angrily. He was promptly ignored though.

"DON'T LIE!" Jessie yelled, beginning to make her way over to James while crawling over Meowth, smashing his face in, "It had to be you! Meowth was busy! So you're the only on..."

"AHEM!" Pikachu said rather loudly, causing Jessie, James, and Meowth to blink rapidly and turn extremely slowly the left, apprehensive about the only other possible voice it could be. They screeched as they laid their eyes on Pikachu, now free to Thunderbolt them to oblivion. "SURPRISE!" And at that moment, thousands of volts surged through the three Team Rocket members, their screams and shrieks of pain exploding forth fro their mouths. Pikachu finally stopped, and he nodded with approval as he was left with three paralyzed and crispy Team Rocket members, that were now twitching and writhing on the floor.

"Serves ya right," Kirlia said with a grin. Pikachu laughed and promptly went to the windshield, which he made quick work of with an Iron Tail.

"Let's get out of here guys," Pikachu said as he hopped out of the window. Riolu and Kirlia nodded and quickly jumped out as well, their hands still intertwined as they landed softly on the ground. Their friends were there waiting for them.

"Pikachu!" Ash said happily as he quickly ran forward to hug his best-friend.

"Hey! Did ya miss me?" Pikachu said with a smile, enjoying the petting he was now receiving.

"You bet," Ash said with a laugh as he let Pikachu out of his arms. He then turned to Riolu and Kirlia, and enveloped them in a hug as well. "Thanks guys. You did great!"

"No problem Ash," Riolu replied.

"Yeah. I thought it was actually kind of fun," Kirlia said with a giggle.

"Well we still got one more thing to do," Ash said as he looked towards the mecha that was still "somewhat" intact; Gyarados may have overdone it a bit. "Let's blow this thing to kingdom come!"

Misty, Latias, Dawn and Brock liked the sound of that.

"Ready! All together!" Ash said as he began counting down from five. Jessie, James and Meowth groggily got up from their latest attack and peered out the window to find an army about to strike.

"WAHHHHHH! WAI..." Meowth pleaded, but it was too late. Everything came at once. Aura Sphere, Flamethrower, Psychic, Mist Ball, Gust, Earthquake, Bubble Beam, and Poison Sting all rocketed towards them. "Well...looks like..." And his words were stopped as the attacks combined and created an enormous explosion that easily launched Team Rocket off into the sky.

"TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"

"Phew...Glad that it's finally over..." Pidgeot said, unable to recall just how long it had been since she had been surrounded by so much excitement, "Now...What's going on?"

* * *

_In Ash's Backyard_

"Wow...I sure have missed a lot," Pidgeot said as she came out of the visions that Ash and Latias had been able to show her. She stood in front of The Black Latios, now knowing that it was in fact Ash. "So now you're on a big quest, once again, to save the world and bring balance...again." Ash laughed.

"Yeah...pretty much," Ash said, shaking his head.

"It sounds like fun to me! You've got your friends all around you and of course Latias," Pidgeot said winking towards Ash. Ash blushed, smart enough now to get the insinuation. "And speaking of her, you have yet to properly introduce me!" Ash glared at his old friend, knowing just what she was trying to do, but he couldn't deny her. He did his best to quell his blush and started, gesturing for Latias to come over.

"Latias I want you to meet Pidgeot. She's the third pokemon that I ever had," Ash said, recalling that day so long ago, "And Pidgeot, this is Latias. We met a while back when I visited Alto Mare and ended up saving it from Team Rocket."

"It's a pleasure," Pidgeot said with a smile, "You are extremely pretty by the way, and judging by your build, not much of a pushover either." Latias blushed, pleased by the praise.

"I'd like to say the same to you," Latias replied, giggling to herself, and Pidgeot laughed with her.

"Oh you indulge me too much dear," Pidgeot answered. She turned towards Ash. "I have to say that I do approve Ash," she added with a wink, causing another round of blushing to erupt on Ash's face. The blushing wasn't isolated to only Ash, however, as Latias had also flushed, a pretty pink spreading across her face. "Oh you two are so adorable." Pidgoet said while giggling mischievously. She knew that there had to be something going on between them, not that they knew it of course. Ash tried his best to shake off the blush and continue introducing her to the rest of his friends, all of which met and greeted her kindly. Finally, he finished off the introductions with Dawn.

"Hey! I got an idea!" Dawn said, "Pidgeot should come with us. We need all the flying help we can get with where we're going." Ash smiled, liking the idea immensely, but he had to ask first of course.

"Well what do you think Pidgeot? Want to come with us?" Ash asked, really hoping that she could. Pidgeot thought about it for a moment.

"Sure. Why not?" Pidgeot said happily spreading her wings to show her eagerness, "It's been pretty quiet around here since the pesky Spearow and Fearow left. I think it's about time for me to go on another adventure." Ash frowned and looked down at the ground in a sudden bout of shame.

"I'm sorry...I meant to come back...but I..." Ash apologized, but was cut off by a sudden wing to the mouth.

"Don't worry about it Ash," Pidgeot responded, "I could never be mad at you. Besides, you can fulfill that promise now...even if it is just a lliiitttle bit late." Ash chuckled, but embraced her, glad that she had already forgiven him.

Ash moved back and quickly took out a pokeball. He lightly tapped Pidgeot with it and watched as her form disappeared into the ball without resistance, finally fulling the promise that he had made all those years ago.

* * *

"Alright then, ready to go everyone?" Ash asked as they exited the front door of his house, saying their actual, final goodbyes to Mrs. Ketchum. He quickly did a double check of all his things to make sure that he didn't forget everything. He had paid a visit to Professor Oak's lab to say goodbye to all of his pokemon and retrieve some as well.

"Yup!" They all chimed.

"So which pokemon are you bringing Ash?" Misty asked.

"Let's see. I've got Latias, Pikachu, Pidgeot, Charizard, Gabite, Staraptor, Buizel and Bayleaf," Ash said counting them off of his fingers, "I don't really know who to pick for the other two slots." That was a lie though. He did know who he wanted for the other two slots, but he didn't want to ask. All of them, except for the two that Ash had in mind, could easily tell which two Ash was considering.

'Why not just ask them Ash?' Latias said privately to her trainer, 'I'm sure that they wouldn't say no.'

'It's not that...it's just that we're going to go see their parents soon. I don't want to feel like I'm taking them away from their family.' Ash responded, not wanting to be that person. Kirlia and Riolu were smart enough to know what was going on though. Kirlia quickly pulled Riolu aside, wanting to talk to him privately.

"What's wrong Kirlia?" Riolu asked, trying to play dumb. He really didn't want to talk about what Kirlia did want to talk about.

"Don't play dumb Riolu. You know who Ash is considering. He's just to nice to ask us. He would rather let us go back to our families than gain more pokemon. At least give him credit for that," Kirlia said fiercely, finding Ash's decision admirable. Riolu sighed, knowing what Kirlia said was true.

"I don't know what to do Kirlia..." Riolu muttered, "One part of me wants to go back home. The other part wants to stay with Ash and help him. I don't want to abandon my parents." Kirlia gave him a sympathetic smile. She knew exactly how he felt.

"I know it's hard. But what do you think our parents would want for us?" Kirlia said while she placed Riolu's paw in her hands. "They will always love us, and we will always love them. But you knew that a day like this would come. And right now we have a chance to have trainer that will take care of us and teach us how to be strong." Riolu turned away, knowing this all to be true, but it was still hard. "I think our parents would understand..." Her words were unheard though, because Riolu had zoned out, a distinct memory coming back to him now.

* * *

_It was a warm sunny day. The warmth of the sunlight spreading easily through the trees of the Tree of Beginning. Riolu and his father were walking down towards the pools, the sound of leaves and grass rustling softly beneath their feet._

"_Riolu," Riolu's father suddenly said, "What do you think about humans?" Riolu quirked his brow, a bit confused by the sudden question, but he answered._

"_They are okay I guess. Most of them are nice," Riolu answered, wondering where his father was going with this topic of conversation, "Why do you ask?" Blaziken sighed, knowing that this had to be done._

"_Take a seat Riolu," his father said as he set himself down on the grass underneath a nearby grove of trees. Riolu quickly followed him and took refuge underneath the shade. "Every pokemon wants to be strong... And I know you really want to be strong."_

"_Of course. I want to protect the pokemon I care about," Riolu responded. Blaziken nodded. _

"_One of these days...You're going to learn all that I can teach you," Blaziken said sadly, "From there...only a human can help you."_

"_What do you mean? I have a really long way to go Dad. There's no way that I'll be able to learn everything from you," Riolu said naively. Blaziken chuckled, wishing that was true._

"_You say that now, but in a few years you'll see what I mean. When that time comes, it may be your destiny to be captured by a trainer," Blaziken said, "And that day will be a very happy...and very sad day for me."_

"_Why's that?" Riolu asked, "Besides...I'm not going to be captured by a trainer. I'm going to stay here with you and Mom." Blaziken shook his head._

"_Everyone must grow up Riolu," Blaziken said to his son, "Just as it is the destiny of water to flow back to the sea. It is the destiny of every pokemon to leave their nest to grow on their own...A human, not just any human, can help you achieve things you have never even dreamed of... One of these days, if you ever find a human that is kind, caring, skillful and unselfish. Go with them; they will have much more to teach you than I ever will." Riolu stopped, mulling over his Dad's words. He didn't know what to think, but he decided to put it aside for now because his dad was continuing. "Besides...You'll need to get stronger if you want to protect Kirlia."_

* * *

"Riolu! You there?" Kirlia asked as she waved her hands rapidly in front of his face, noticing that he had apparently just zoned out. He shook his head quickly back and forth to dispel the recent remembered memory.

"Yeah," Riolu responded slowly, "And you're right..." Kirlia smiled, glad that Riolu had agreed with her. "I guess that we should go tell Ash." Kirlia nodded and quickly lead Riolu back over to where Ash and the rest of their friends were waiting. They apparently hadn't noticed their quite lengthy disappearance, and in fact, Ash looked like he was still on the same subject that they had left him with.

'I just don't know Latias...I'm not sure how Riolu and Kirlia would take it,' Ash continued, not even realizing that Kirlia and Riolu had already made up their minds.

"Hey Ash!" Riolu said loudly, breaking Ash out of his telepathic conversation with Latias, "Will you hurry up and ask us to officially be part of your team already?" Ash blinked over and over again, never expecting Riolu to say that. Riolu and Kirlia smiled, both amused by the face that Ash was making right now.

"Wha...?" Ash said dumbly, a bit stunned by what Kirlia and Riolu had just said.

"Well if you don't wan..." Kirlia started.

"No! No...I would love to have you guys on my team...but...do you guys really want to be on my team? Are you guys alright with it?" Ash asked, wanting to be absolutely sure that Riolu and Kirlia were okay with the idea.

"Of course," Riolu answered, putting aside his worries and deciding to put his trust in Ash, "We both know that you are a great trainer. We've seen how you treat your pokemon and your friends. We trust you completely." Ash smiled and slowly drew out two pokeballs to see how Riolu and Kirlia would react. They didn't balk or back away at all. He knelled down to their level and looked them both in the eyes.

"I promise that I'll do my best to take care of you guys," Ash said, and they both knew it. He lightly tapped them both on their heads, and watched as they disappeared into their respective pokeballs. It was done, and everyone knew what was going to happen next.

"YEAH! I just caught a Riolu and Kirlia!" Ash said epically as he thrust the two "new" pokemon into the air. Pikachu followed along, as was tradition.

"About time too," Pikachu said, "You and Latias treat them like their yours already anyway." Latias blushed, knowing what Pikachu slyly insinuated. Ash was a bit too busy to notice though. Seconds later, the two pokeballs in Ash's hands snapped open, releasing Ash's recent captures, who shook their heads trying to throw off the feeling of being inside of a pokeball. Pikachu laughed, knowing what was coming. "Too small right?"

"You hit the Diglett on the head there," Kirlia said. Ash laughed and shook his head, briefly wondering why he seemed to accumulate so many pokemon that exclusively didn't enjoy pokeballs.

"Don't worry guys," Ash said, "You can stay out of your pokeballs if you want." They nodded, glad that they could retain their ability to move around freely. "Well guys, welcome to the family!"Riolu and Kirlia grinned, knowing that wherever they went, they would always have a family. Ash smiled back. "Well what are we doing here! Let's get going! We got a world to save!" He quickly turned into his Black Latios form and summoned, Charizard, Staraptor, and Pidgeot. Latias promptly followed, transforming herself as well. Misty mounted Charizard, who roared defiantly, ready to finally get out of Pallet. Brock calmly climbed onto his old friend Pidgeot and hoped that the journey towards the Tree of Beginning would be a peaceful one. Dawn clumsily got onto Staraptor and laughed a bit to try to shrug off her embarrassing mount; Staraptor didn't mind at all. Kirlia and Riolu hopped onto Latias, ready and waiting.

"Well let's go Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed as he motioned for his best friend to hop aboard. Pikachu quickly jumped on his best friend.

"Let's fly!" Pikachu yelled, "It's time to go save the world!"

* * *

Finally! We're actually headed to the Tree of Beginning to start our epic quest of completely ridiculous proportions. Looks like Pidgeot's finally back, and Ash has Riolu and Kirlia too! Lots of excitement, adventure, and more embarrassing moments are soon to come!

**And! More fan art for you guys to enjoy! by Dark-Wing-Blader once again!**

**Chapter 13: Black Latios Blanket - Submitted by Dark-Wing-Blader **

**(Just get rid of the spaces as usual :P)**

http : / / dark - gecko5 . deviantart . com / art / Black - latios - blanket - 278235176

**Also! This story has just surpassed a year of publication! Thanks so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, referred, etc my story! You guys are the best! I'd like to thank everyone of you guys for supporting me and this story! **

**Special Thanks to ARCEUS-master, a dear mentor, friend and excellent author, without whom this story would not exist today.**

**Many Thanks to my new grammatically-masterful and syntactically correct Beta, Tanon, who shall assist me in creating a better and more enjoyable story for you guys for chapters to come!**

Well that should do it! Sorry for the two day delay! It took a while to properly set up the new beta connection!

Thanks for reading and please review!

-Mekon


	20. Ch19: Friends In Royal Places

**DISCLAIMER**

My ownership is like me choosing to stop this story without completing it. Never going to happen!

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

**A/N **Yeah I'm not dead guys! No worries! Sorry for such a late update! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Last Time:

"_YEAH! I just caught a Riolu and Kirlia!" Ash said epically as he thrust the two "new" pokemon into the air. Pikachu followed along, as was tradition. _

"_About time too," Pikachu said, "You and Latias treat them like their yours already anyway." Latias blushed, knowing what Pikachu slyly insinuated. Ash was a bit too busy to notice though. Seconds later, the two pokeballs in Ash's hands snapped open, releasing Ash's recent captures, who shook their heads trying to throw off the feeling of being inside of a pokeball. Pikachu laughed, knowing what was coming. "Too small right?" _

"_You hit the Diglett on the head there," Kirlia said. Ash laughed and shook his head, briefly wondering why he seemed to accumulate so many pokemon that exclusively didn't enjoy pokeballs. _

"_Don't worry guys," Ash said, "You can stay out of your pokeballs if you want." They nodded, glad that they could retain their ability to move around freely. "Well guys, welcome to the family!"Riolu and Kirlia grinned, knowing that wherever they went, they would always have a family. Ash smiled back. "Well what are we doing here! Let's get going! We got a world to save!" He quickly turned into his Black Latios form and summoned, Charizard, Staraptor, and Pidgeot. Latias promptly followed, transforming herself as well. Misty mounted Charizard, who roared defiantly, ready to finally get out of Pallet. Brock calmly climbed onto his old friend Pidgeot and hope that the journey towards the Tree of Beginning would be a peaceful one. Dawn clumsily got onto Staraptor and laughed a bit to try to shrug off her embarrassing mount; Staraptor didn't mind at all. Kirlia and Riolu hopped onto Latias, ready and waiting._

"_Well let's go Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed as he motioned for his best friend to hop aboard. Pikachu quickly jumped on his best friend._

"_Let's fly!" Pikachu yelled, "It's time to go save the world!"_

* * *

Ch19: Friends In Royal Places

Four solid days of flying over the forests, plains and lakes of Kanto had already quite literally flown by, and Ash and his friends were just entering the outer fringes of the town of Rota, home of the beautiful Cameran Palace, which was only eclipsed in beauty by the Tree of Beginning which towered over the region in the nearby mountains.

Their journey had been rather peaceful, but traveling such a long distance in a short time had taken its toll. Exhaustion and weariness plagued their very beings, Ash more so than everyone else. Right now, all they really wanted was a warm bed to fall into, plus maybe something warm and delicious to fill their bellies.

"Almost there..." Ash repeated to himself, training his eyes on the horizon, waiting for the first buildings and houses to peak over the landscape. He had never been this tired in his life, and he marveled at the fact that his other pokemon seemed to be in relatively good shape compared to him.

"Tired?" Latias asked as she floated over, knowing that he had to be by now. "Most pokemon don't fly for almost four days straight on their maiden flight."

"How do you guys do it..." Ash asked tiredly as he adjusted his flight pattern slightly, "You guys seem to be just fine. I could sleep for days after this trip." Latias smiled.

"It's because of you of course," Latias answered kindly, "We didn't get this strong on our own." Ash chuckled, appreciating her compliment.

"Hmm...of course," Ash responded, not about to let a compliment escape him, and Latias giggled to herself, amused by his sudden change in attitude which was so central to his character.

"There it is! Rota and Cameran Palace dead ahead! You can even see a bit of the Tree of Beginning in the background," Brock shouted, breaking Ash and Latias out of their little conversation. Brock had easily recognized the landscape, having previously visited the region about a year ago.

"Wow..." Dawn, Latias and Misty breathed out, laying their eyes on Cameran Palace and Tree of Beginning for the first time. The town seemed to sparkle and breathe life, standing out amongst the hilly mountain side. The afternoon sun added to the warm glow as its rays bounced off of the nearby river that flowed through the town, illuminating the Palace and surrounding forests.

"It's beautiful," Misty said as marveled at the majestic setting of the town, "I can't wait to get down there and see it!"

"Me too! I really want to visit the castle and the town first though. It looks like something big is going on down there," Dawn added, looking down at the ground, noticing vibrant bright spots dotting the landscape, colored in reds, yellows, greens, blues and oranges. They seemed to paint the tops of what looked like carnival tents, creating a quaint, yet dazzling display.

"I think it might be the annual Hero of the Year festival," Brock said recognizing the festivities that were currently being held at Cameran Palace. "It looks like we're just in time too."

'Too bad we don't have any time to visit...' Latias said sadly, knowing that their mission was urgent. They all sighed, knowing what she said was true. Their lamentations were suddenly interrupted, however, as a random Swablu and Altaria appeared in front of them, causing them all to coast to a stop in midair.

"Hello. Would one of you happen to be Ash?" the Altaria asked as she flapped her cloud-like wings gracefully and effortlessly. Ash hesitated in answering, but he felt like he could trust these pokemon.

"That would be me," Ash answered slowly, trying not to expend too much energy by talking, "Do you need something?"

"Told you it was probably them," the Swablu said as she nudged the larger Altaria. The Altaria rolled her eyes in response. "Mew and Mewtwo have a message for you."

"Okay..." Ash said, "What is it?"

"They'll be back soon to start your training, and that you should take a day or two to recover," the Altaria said, "And I think it would be a good idea. You all look like you're about to fall out of the sky." Ash couldn't have agreed more.

"Wait...so where are they?" Charizard asked, a bit peeved that they had flown all the way here just to figure out that Mew and Mewtwo weren't even here yet.

"They are currently still on their mission to find clues as to who took and corrupted the orbs," the Altaria said, "So like they said, I'd recommend relaxing for a bit. You don't want to be so tired that you can't train. That won't do you any good. Perhaps you could enjoy the festivities that the humans are currently holding."

"I think that's a good idea," Pikachu said from Ash's back. Charizard scoffed, knowing Pikachu was thinking more with his stomach than anything else. Besides, he wasn't one for social events.

"You mean 'Smells like a good idea.' don't you Pikachu?" Charizard retorted, though inwardly, he did wonder what was going on at the festival. He kind of hoped that there would be a pokemon competition or something. He hadn't been in an official battle for a really long time.

Pikachu smirked in response. "Guilty as charged Charizard," he answered, not even bothering to defend himself.

"Well, what about you guys?" Latias asked turning her head towards Kirlia and Riolu, "I know that you two wanted to see your parents again."

"Ohh! Can we? Can we please Riolu?" Kirlia begged making her best puppy eyes as possible. She really wanted to see what the festival was like. She had seen it every year since birth from the top of the Tree of Beginning, but she had never actually been able to go down and experience it herself.

"Well..." Riolu started, trying in vain to resist Kirlia's pleading. He thought about it. They were already basically at the Tree of Beginning, and their parents were less than a day's walk away. "I suppose we can. But after, we're going directly to the Tree," he relented, mainly because he couldn't deny Kirlia's puppy eyes, and he was secretly interested himself.

"Look's like we're going to the festival then," Ash said, really glad that he would get some time to rest and recover. "There's not really much we can do without Mew and Mewtwo here."

"We'll come and find you once Mew and Mewtwo get here, or Mew will come find you. She usually hangs around the castle during festival time." the Altaria said, waving them goodbye and flying off towards the mountains. Ash and his friends descended, landing just on the outskirts of town in the nearby forest, allowing Ash and Latias transform into their human forms in secrecy. Ash thanked his pokemon for doing such a great job and returned them to their pokeballs, wishing them a good rest.

"Let's go!" Dawn said as she surged ahead, extremely enticed by beauty of the medieval setting that the town was currently sporting.

"Pokemon center first Dawn," Brock said smartly, "We need to give Ash's pokemon their rest. They were the ones doing all the work after all. Plus, Ash is looking pretty worn down." Ash groaned in response, swearing that he had never felt this tired in his life. He was even having trouble walking straight. Unfortunately for him, the forest didn't seem to care whether or not he was tired and had placed a convenient tree root for him to trip over, which he did. He landed on the floor in an ungraceful face-plant, groaning all the while.

'Ash!' Latias exclaimed worriedly, rushing forward to help her trainer off of the hard forest ground. 'Are you okay? Do you need any help?'

"Fine..." Ash muttered, waving her off and dusting himself, feeling a bit stupid after that fall. He tried his best to walk again, but his fatigue wracked his body, causing his muscles to spasm and twitch uncontrollably. He felt himself start to fall, but his momentum was abruptly arrested by a pair of warm and soft hands wrapping firmly around his wrist and waist.

"You're such an idiot..." Latias said fondly putting one of his arms on her shoulder, knowing just how stubborn Ash was. Ash didn't answer and just let Latias support him, resting his head on her shoulder. He didn't really have the strength or will to answer her, and wanted a place to lie down and surrender to blissful sleep. 'We should get to the pokemon center now. Ash really needs some rest,' Latias said to the rest of them. They nodded and began walking out of the forest, getting onto the road quickly. The thoughts of the music, food, carnival, and potential relaxation filled their minds, causing them to walk a bit faster than usual, but all that ran through Latias' mind was Ash.

* * *

_The Pokemon Center_

The sounds of the doorbell rang painfully through Ash's ears as they crossed the threshold of the pokemon center. Sometimes he wished that he hadn't acquired such an acute sense of hearing from his Latios form. In the far corners of his mind, Ash could hear Brock asking Nurse Joy for three separate rooms, along with the amount of concern that Nurse Joy seemed to exhibit over his condition. He couldn't pick out exact words; everything was getting fuzzy. All he could feel was the warmth from Latias.

He felt his legs moving as if they were automated, each step feeling less and less real than the next. Ash was just letting Latias guide him. He didn't even feel like he was seeing through his own eyes. It was like watching through a television screen, and a very blurry one at that. A wooden, polished doorway appeared on the screen, revealing a small comfortable room behind it, but all that he saw was a bed, one which promised sweet, sweet relief.

Ash felt his body being lowered slowly by soft and caring hands. As they pulled away, Ash mourned the loss of Latias' warm embrace, but he quickly forgot about it, having fallen asleep before hitting the pillow. Before finally slipping into that sweet plane of oblivion that was sleep, however, he felt a small, soft touch that brushed his hair aside and a brief sensation that felt like a butterfly landing on his forehead. He smiled.

"Sweet dreams Ash."

* * *

Latias quietly backed out of the room, silently closing the door behind her with the utmost care so as to not disturb her sleeping trainer, as well as telling Pikachu, Kirlia and Riolu to go hang out with the other pokemon in the center so that Ash could get some due rest. As she finished shutting the door, she felt a presence appear behind her, and her empathetic senses told her that whoever it was wasn't very friendly.

"Excuse me! Will you please move out-of-the-way?" a rather indignant and pompous voice said, causing Latias to spin around, a bit surprised by the sudden voice. She turned to see a blonde-haired boy with a rather unhappy scowl on his face. His face suddenly changed, however, as he noticed just how beautiful the girl in front of him was. "Oh. I apologize, miss," he said, his voice completely different, "I feel so horrible for using such a imperative tone. Allow me to make up for it by taking you out to dinner." Latias didn't know what to do. This was the first time that she had been around another human that didn't know she was a pokemon, and even worse, it was some annoying guy who thought he could win her over with fancy words and smooth talk! She looked left and right for an exit, hoping that maybe one of her friends would come out of the adjacent rooms and save her. Unfortunately, no savior came to her side, and she had to endure more of the pompous boy's tripe. "Oh where are my manners-"

"_Pfftt. Doubt you really do have any,"_ Latias thought indignantly, as she slowly edged away from him.

"My name is Jason Malatyon...THE Jason Malatyon," he continued, completely oblivious to the fact that Latias couldn't really care less. "May I ask who you are?"

"Tia what are you doing?" a sudden voice asked from behind Latias. Latias spun around, recognizing the name that her friends had decided to call her in public. She was relieved to find that it belonged to Misty.

'Save me,' Latias begged as she ran behind Misty, putting as much distance between her and this Jason guy as possible at the moment. Misty raised her eyebrows in confusion, but could easily tell that Latias was in some sort of trouble. She then noticed the boy that was in front of her and easily understood what was going on.

"Tia is it?" Jason dreamily said to himself, "What a beautiful name."

"Hey idiot! Why are you bothering my friend?" Misty yelled as she crossed her arms. She could tell that this guy was a jerk even without talking to him. Jason's demeanor suddenly changed.

"Are you addressing me, commoner?" Jason asked venomously, his voice resuming the earlier tones of pompousness, "Your troglodytic tripe is beginning to irritate my ears."

Misty twitched, a distinct vein of anger appearing on her forhead. She was just about to whip out her mallet and bash him in the face, but was stopped by his sudden decision to leave. "This place is much too banal for my tastes, I'm afraid. I'll be off now." He strode away, just escaping the fate that Misty had wished to bring upon him. "Tia...you will be mine," he whispered to himself as he exited the Pokemon Center.

"Who the heck was that? " Misty fumed, wishing that she had been able to smash his face in with her hammer.

'No idea...some jerk who thought that he could win me over by trying to be all charming,' Latias responded, letting out a breath of relief. 'I was really trying to not burn him to a crisp with my Dragonbreath.' Misty laughed to herself, wishing that that had really happened.

"Let's hope we don't run into that jerk again then, because he'll be dragon food and bashed into a pulp," Misty said with a giggle. Latias laughed as well, glad to have friends that had her back. Finally, Brock exited his room further down the hallway, and Dawn left Misty's room. They noticed that Misty and Latias were laughing, and wondered what was going on.

"Uhhh...did we miss something?" Brock asked.

"Ehh, nothing important," Misty said with a shrug, "Anyway, let's get something to eat! I'm starving! There has to be something to eat here at this festival." They eagerly agreed with Misty and followed her out of the Pokemon Center, leaving Ash to enjoy his well deserved rest.

* * *

"Wow! There's just so much out here!" Dawn gasped as she spun around rapidly, trying  
to take in as much as possible. There were musicians, street performers, and children running here and there urging their parents toward the current object of their desire whether it be cotton candy or a ride on the nearest merry-go-round.

"Just like I remember it!" Brock exclaimed, rapidly looking here and there just like Dawn, except his interests were quite different. "Beautiful girls as far as the eye can see!" Promptly, he began speeding from lady to lady, attempting to compliment them and gain their favor. The group watched with amusement and disbelief, waiting for the abrupt ending that was sure to come. And come it did.

Just as Brock took hold of the hand of a beautiful, completely alarmed brunette, Croagunk popped out of his pokeball and paralyzed Brock with a Poison Jab to the gut, dragging him away from the poor lady.

They laughed heartily at the usual outcome of Brock's romantic advances and continued through the festival looking for a place to enjoy dinner.

They settled on a small and quiet noodle shop, glad to get away from the noise of the festival, especially after such a tiring trip from Pallet.

"It's great to finally be able to sit down and relax..." Dawn sighed as her steaming bowl of delicious egg-noodles was delivered.

"Yeah," Misty agreed, "Better enjoy it while we can. We won't be able to relax like this once Mew and Mewtwo get back." They nodded, wondering when that would exactly be. They hoped that it would be soon, yet not too soon. The emergency was urgent, but they were scared of their responsibility and the consequences of failure.

"Let's not worry about that right now," Brock said as he took a bite of his food, "We'll handle it as it comes. Right now we should just enjoy the free time."

After about an hour, they finished up their food and also made sure to order lots for Ash, knowing that he would surely want something to eat once he woke up. On their way out of the store, Dawn noticed a very interesting poster.

"Hey! Look! There's a pokemon contest and competition being held tomorrow!" Dawn exclaimed, "I'm totally going to enter!" They crowded around the poster excitedly, wanting to get a closer look.

'Pokemon competition - Battle for the right to be called "Hero of the Year" in honor of Sir Aaron the True Guardian of Aura.' Latias read off the poster. She scanned the poster briefly and gasped. 'Hey! Ash is on this poster!'

"Oh Yeah, Ash was last year's champion," Brock said, " That's probably why he's on here."

"Really?" Misty said, "I didn't know that." Brock nodded.

"That's what started the whole thing here last year that pretty much resulted with Ash saving The Tree of Beginning and this town," Brock responded, "We should probably tell Ash that this competition is tomorrow. I think he'll want to compete."

"Of course he will want to participate! It's Ash!" Dawn exclaimed, eliciting a round of laughs from her friends, "I'm going to go for the contest. It would be great to finally get some practice in."

"Hmmm well, I think that I'll be competing in the competition," Misty said with a grin, determined, "Can't let Ash have such an easy time in there after all."

"You guys are in luck. It says registration is still open till tomorrow morning. You guys can sign up tomorrow," Brock said, "We should get back to the pokemon center. It's starting to get dark, and we need our rest for tomorrow." They left for the center, knowing that tomorrow would be an extremely fun and interesting day for all of them.

* * *

_At the pokemon center_

Ash slowly stirred, his body still aching, but not nearly as the day before. He wondered if his pokemon form had given him healing abilities, which had allowed him to recover so quickly. He could tell it was morning by the pidgey chirping happily. His eyes opened just the slightest bit, and all he saw was soft brown hair filling his face. It smelled like a fresh ocean breeze with the slightest scent of peaches and strawberries. It took him a moment, but he finally realized that the hair belonged to Latias, and the body that he was currently holding was as well.

He lightly blushed, wondering to himself when he had embraced Latias in such an intimate position. Ash couldn't help but enjoy it though. He listened to the soft inhale and exhale of Latias' slow breathing, feeling calm and at peace. He felt her shift, and tried to extract his arms, worried that she might wake up, but failed, his right arm trapped underneath her body.

He froze, hoping that Latias would return to her peaceful snoozing. His hopes were quickly destroyed though as he noticed a heavier breathing, indicating that Latias was now awake. She turned over, whipping the ocean and fruit scented hair out of Ash's face, and Ash found himself face to face with Latias.

"Morning Ash," Latias said happily while rubbing her head against his affectionately, her golden-brown eyes twinkling all the while. "How'd you sleep?" It took a second for Ash to register the question in his mind; he was a bit too occupied admiring Latias and her eyes.

"Great...really great!" Ash answered, shaking himself mentally. "I feel a lot better than I did yesterday." Latias smiled, glad that Ash was feeling better.

"C'mon then, let's go get some breakfast. You'll need it for the pokemon competition later on today," Latias said, and the fire was ignited.

"WHAT? THERE'S A POKEMON COMPETITION? TODAY?" Ash exclaimed as he jumped out of bed, " I GOTTA GET READY THEN!" He began running here and there, washing up and changing for the day. "Let's go, Latias! We got a lot of things to do!" Latias giggled, knowing that Ash would have reacted like this. She hopped out of the bed and stretched, washing up and quickly following Ash out of the room. They found their friends ready and waiting for them out in the lobby.

"Morning Ash," Pikachu said hopping up and giving his best friend a morning hug. "I hope you're ready to go and kick some butt today!" Ash grinned, feeling like it had been ages since he had officially competed in a pokemon competition. He collected his now perfectly recovered pokemon from Nurse Joy and thanked her profusely.

"So wait, what are we doing today?" Riolu asked, wondering what was going on. All he heard was "kicking butt."

"Pokemon battling competition today guys!" Ash said, extremely excited with the possibility of officially battling with his new pokemon.

"Yeah! And I'm entering the pokemon contest too!" Dawn chimed in, "Misty's going to enter the battling competition too Ash!" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Can't let you get the best of me after all Ash," Misty said with a challenging grin.

"Ha! You're on!" Ash laughed, always enjoying a challenge, " Don't expect me to go easy on you of course!" Misty scoffed playfully, not wanting it any other way.

"Well none of you guys are going to be able to compete if we don't register," Brock interjected, "We should go do that now before the line builds up. We can get something to eat on the way too." They nodded, agreeing to the plan, and they rushed out of the door, excited by what today had to offer them.

* * *

_In line for registration_

"Aaaaarrceeeuusss!" Ash yelled impatiently, "This is taking forever!" They had only been in line for about ten minutes, and Ash was already complaining.

"Just be patient Ash," Brock said wisely from behind Ash, "We're almost there anyway." Within five minutes, Ash and his friends reached the counter.

"Hi. I'd like to enter the pokemon competition," Ash said politely.

"Of course. ID please," the receptionist responded as she prepped Ash's application. Ash readily passed her his trainer card and his pokedex to confirm his status of a pokemon trainer and ID. "Excellent! Everything seems to be in order. The competition will be starting in four hours." Ash nodded and thanked her. Afterward, she registered Misty for the competition and Dawn for her contest. She had expected Brock to enter one of the events, but all she got was a heart-eyed Brock that attempted to hit on her, only to be foiled by his Croagunk. She also found it strange that the other girl just passed on without a word, but she shrugged it off, moving to the next person in line.

"Well that was easy!" Ash concluded, "First round's in four hours! I got plenty of time to practice and train!"

"Not so fast Ash!" Dawn interrupted, "My pokemon contest is in two hours!"

"Yeah Ash," Misty said, "We should be there to support her." Ash sighed, wishing that he could go train, but he knew that being there for his friends was more important.

"Fine..." Ash conceded, "I'm expecting it to be amazing though!" Dawn giggled, promising Ash that his sacrifice would be worth it.

'I'm excited! This is the first time I've ever seen a pokemon contest and competition!' Latias said, anticipating amazing performances from both events.

"They are really quite a sight," Brock said, "Each contest and competition is unique in the fact that each trainer that enters is unique, each with their own styles and ideas that they bring to the stage. You'll really love it." Latias thought it sounded amazing; she couldn't wait!

"Well, you won't be just watching everything of course," Ash added, "I'm planning on using you, Riolu and Kirlia for the pokemon competition. I think you guys would be perfect."

"Huh?" Kirlia asked, taken aback by Ash's sudden decision. "Wouldn't it be smarter for you to use one of your more experienced and stronger pokemon like Pikachu or Charizard? I don't want you to lose Ash." Riolu silently agreed. He and Kirlia had such little training. What could they do against battle-hardened pokemon?

"You guys will be fine," Pikachu responded, "Besides, I've already competed in this competition. It wasn't that bad, and actually I soloed it. Charizard's already agreed to let you guys try official battling out, and that took ages. I had to pretty much bribe him over breakfast this morning with my own breakfast!" Kirlia, Riolu and Latias looked skeptical still, a bit intimidated by their first official battling debut. "You guys are plenty strong enough to take on the pokemon that you'll be facing in the competition," Pikachu encouraged, "Some of them are pansies anyway."

'But...' Latias protested, fearful of the possibility of failing her trainer and friend.

"Don't worry about it Latias," Ash cut in lightly, "Win or lose. It doesn't really matter to me here. What is important is that you guys get some real battling experience. I have full faith in you guys and your abilities." They smiled, grateful to have such an understanding and kind trainer.

"We'll do our best Ash!" Riolu promised, a fire now ablaze in his eyes.

"I know you guys will," Ash said with a wide grin, "That's exactly why I decided to use you guys in the first place." Latias smiled, and gave Ash a quick hug. She was becoming more enamored with Ash with every passing day.

"Hey! If you guys are going to compete, you need to look the part," Dawn said, remembering that there was a public dressing room available to all competitors and coordinators filled with various dresses, suits and costumes that were chronologically tied to the setting of the festival.

"Oh yeah!" Ash exclaimed, remembering his heroic get-up from last year, "I want to find some really sweet outfit that I can wear for the competition!" Ash was all for dressing the part, especially if it made him feel like some big legendary hero-type figure.

"Well then let's get going before all the good ones are taken!" Dawn responded as she ran off, wanting to find the perfect dress to wear for her contest, followed closely by Ash and his friends.

* * *

_An hour later_

"Well?" Dawn asked as she stepped out of the dressing room for what seemed like the millionth time, "What do you guys think? I think this might be the one." She wore a strapless dark blue dress, embroidered on the edges with light gold and silver curls and swirls. The main corset hugged her body just enough and was detailed with similar designs. Her hands were covered in long dark blue gloves that ran all the way to her elbows, and to top it off, her head was adorned with a small silver tiara studded with aquamarine stones.

"ARRGH! IT'S GREAT DAWN!" Ash shouted in exasperation, having had to stand there for the last hour and watch Dawn change through hundreds of outfits. This was not how he expected to pick out his costume. Even Brock was on the edge of exploding.

"No it's not! It's horrible isn't it!" Dawn responded insecurely, "This means that I have to find..."

"Well I think it's beautiful!" A sudden, but very easily recognized voice exclaimed from behind Dawn. They turned to find a girl standing behind Dawn with an amused face. She was a brunette, with two distinctive hair rivers branching out diagonally from her head. Her head was adorned with a bright red bandanna, and right behind her was a boy, just about as tall her, his head reaching up to the bride of her nose. He wore a large pair of black-framed glasses that took up most of his cheerful face, and on his shoulder was a rather happy ralts.

"May! Max!" Ash, Brock and Misty exclaimed, stunned by their old friends' sudden appearance. They ran forward to give them a hug, having not seen them face to face in just under a year. "What are you guys doing here?" Dawn also greeted May, and introduced herself to Max who she had heard so much about from her friends. Latias, Riolu and Kirlia stayed back, not minding at all. In fact, they enjoyed watching Ash and his friends reunite with some of their old comrades.

"Hey guys!" May said from inside of the group hug, her voice a bit muffled, "It's great to see you guys too." They released her, laughing. "We're back here for the pokemon contest they are holding. It's one of the biggest ones in Kanto, so, I had to come!" Pikachu huffed, playfully, pretending to be offended that May had not addressed him yet, and May laughed, noticing the yellw mouse's displeasure. "It's even better to see you, Pikachu," May said with a giggle. Pikachu grinned and nuzzled her cheek in response.

"That's great!" Ash responded, thrilled with the opportunity to hang out with more of his friends. He looked over them, noticing some changes, mainly in Max, but overall, they were still the same old May and Max that he had left a little over a year ago. "Wow Max, you sure have grown from the last time I saw you."

"Yup!" Max responded happily, his voice noticeably lower, though still carrying that innocent boyish attitude that he always carried. (1)

"Hey! And you've even got a pokemon!" Brock added, "Is this the same Ralts that you saved when we were headed to Sootopolis ?" Max nodded vigorously.

"I came back for him the day that I became a trainer!" Max answered, still overjoyed with actually being a pokemon trainer, having turned ten a bit less than a month and half ago.

"That's so cool!" Ash answered. Ralts agreed, hugging Max's face happily.

"So what brings you guys here then?" Max asked, thinking them to be on some great new adventure on some random new island filled with some random new fantastic, exotic pokemon.

"Oh boy...that's a looooooonnnnnggg story...one that's I've already told too many times," Ash answered with a sigh, "I'll get to that later. I want you to meet some of my new and old friends." Max and May looked up to find a very beautiful girl with long brunette hair and brown-amber eyes looking back them. She smiled, and walked up to them, shaking their hands amicably.

"Hi! I'm May! Nice to meet you!" May said, ecstatic at the prospect of getting a new friend. "What's your name!" Latias smiled, liking May's very genuine personality. She decided to answer, knowing that any friend of Ash's must be a good friend.

'Hi. Nice to meet you too. I'm Latias,' she responded, waiting for the shock to register on May's face.

"That's so cool!" May answered back obliviously, "Are you psychic or something? That's sooooo amazing!" Max face-palmed, forgetting just how little her sister knew of the great world of pokemon sometimes. Max looked back at the girl, and wondered to himself if it was possible.

'Yes Max, I am a pokemon,' Latias answered playfully, easily detecting Max's inner questioning. Max's jaw dropped in complete shock, and Latias giggled, finally getting the reaction that she expected. May then finally registered the true situation, and her jaw dropped as well.

"What?" May yelled, "But..but... you look like a human right now! How?" Latias giggled cutely, always enjoying the reactions that people had when they learned about their true form.

'I think Ash should explain that one,' Latias responded with a giggle, 'Besides he's got his own explaining to do.'

"Wow!" Max finally said, a very late reaction to his discovery of Latias' actual self, "Ash? Is she yours!" Ash laughed, knowing how much Max adored and loved pokemon, especially special legendary types. He imagined that another pokemon that could shape shift into a human form and communicate on human terms would completely overwhelm Max.

"Yup!" Ash responded joyfully as he put his arm around Latias, teasing Max, enjoying the continued state of disbelief that Max was stuck in. "Latias is all mine," he stated proudly, smiling all the while. Latias blushed, imagining another reason for Ash to say that exact line. May giggled, finding the scene adorable.

"She is sooooo cute!" May gushed, "I wonder what she really looks like!" Ash smiled, expecting May to be very interested.

"Wait wait wait, let's start back at square one here," Max said, always the one to direct May back what was really important, "What are you guys even doing all the way out here?" Ash's happy smile disappeared, remembering what their true purpose of the visit was. He looked around for a clock, and noticed that there were about forty-five minutes left till May and Dawn's first round. He didn't want them to be late.

"Do you think I can tell everything within maybe thirty or thrity-five minutes Latias with questions?" Ash asked skeptically. Latias was doubtful. "Do you think you guys can wait till later?" Ash asked slowly, knowing that holding a secret from May would drive her crazy.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaa! I won't be able to concentrate knowing that there is this big juicy secret that I don't know that I should know that I want to know!" May protested, causing Ash to roll his eyes, expecting such a response from May.

"Well I hope you've got everything planned for the contest then. This could take a bit. I'll try to give you the abridged version," Ash said jokingly, "Now just hold still for a second. Ready Latias?" Latias nodded; this was becoming quite routine now. Max and May watched with extreme curiosity, wondering what was going on as Ash's eyes began to glow a psychic blue.

"Uhh...Ash...what are you..." May began, but was quickly left dumbstruck as various memories flashed rapidly through her mind in quick succession, bombarding her senses and mind with Ash's story. After about a minute, the memory transfer finally ended. May and Max stumbled around, confused and dazed after the abrupt intrusion into their minds. "Wha...wha...what just...happened...I saw a black dragon...past...battle...red dragon...end of the world...orbs...Mew...Mewtwo...Tree." May rambled on, still trying to process all of the scattered memories that were inserted into her brain. Finally, after about five minutes, May and Max were brought out of their stupor. "OH MY ARCEUS! ASH! YOU! DRAGON! BLACK! ORBS! END OF THE..." May screamed, before suddenly being silenced by a hand to her mouth, namely Max's.

"Shhhh! You can't go around blabbing about like that" Max exclaimed, but then turned to Ash, "You've got to show me your new form Ash! I really really really really really realllllllllllllyyyyy want to see it! It looked amazing and sooooo cool!" Ash laughed, knowing that not even Max was immune to the unbelievability of his story. Brock shook his head and laughed as well, missing the hilarious interaction between Max and May.

"Shouldn't you guys be focusing on the fact that we're trying to save the world...again?" Brock asked with a raised brow and a grin, making light of the actual situation they faced.

"Yeah, what's up with that whole deal? All I could catch was something about elemental aura orbs... and corruption," Max stated, wanting to learn more about these mysterious powerful objects.

"Long story short: There are some magical orbs scattered all around the world that are connected directly to Arceus, and there is someone that's corrupting them, which is hurting Arceus and the world. Eventually if we don't stop it, all the pokemon in this world will become corrupted and evil. We're here because I need training from Mew and Mewtwo to learn to use my powers, and it just so happens that Mew's home is here at the Tree of Beginning." Ash summed up to the best of his abilities, "And we're hanging out here for a bit now because Mew and Mewtwo are still out trying to find out who is corrupting the orbs."

'Yup...that's pretty much where we're at right now,' Latias said, glancing at the clock. There were fifteen minutes left till the first round. 'And speaking of where we're at, I think that you guys need to head over to the competition NOW if you want to make it!' May and Dawn swerved their heads towards the clock and screamed, realizing just how close the actual first round was.

"LET'S GO DAWN!" May yelled, having already picked out her outfit a day earlier. She grabbed, Dawn's arm and dragged her out of the door. "WE'LL SEE YOU GUYS AT THE CONTEST!"

"GOOD LUCK!" They all called, a bit late. May and Dawn were already out of the door, ready to put on their best for the show ahead. Latias, Ash, Brock and Misty couldn't wait!

* * *

(1) Since max was 7 when debuted, I'm going to say that his birthday was very near his debut. Therefore, at the end of Ash's journey with them he was 9. Then another year with Dawn would make him exactly 10.

Oh My God...finally. I was able to finish this darned chapter! I've been ludicrously busy as of late, and I apologize for such a late update. Things have died down a bit so hopefully it won't take as long to update now.

Anyways, I hoped you guys liked it. A lot of people have been asking if May and Max would appear, so I obliged. It is still a possibility that they won't stay. I'll have to see how their character adds to the story. So far, I'm liking their interaction. Tell me what you guys think.

Oh and what's up with that Jason character eh?

Well after the next chapter, we'll finally be getting back to the main plot. Hopefully, my schedule won't get ridiculously clogged up again, and I'll be able to deliver another chapter within a month for you guys.

And before you go! Another lovely piece of fan-art for you to enjoy!

**Latias' New Disguise – Submitted by AquaShine**

http : / / aquashines . deviantart . com / art / The - Black - Latios - Latias - New - Disguise - 286765085

And as usual, many thanks to my amazing beta : Tanon!

Well that's it for now! Thanks again for being so patient, and thanks for reading and please review!

-Mekon


	21. Ch20: A Little Competition

**DISCLAIMER**

Ownership is like me seriously shipping Latias with some other character later on in the story! (I Imagine you guys would really kill me if I did something like that :P )

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

**A/N**

**Yes yes yes. I know and I'm so so so so so so so so so so so so so so...well you get it...sorry! I've been really busy! I'll explain at the bottom! Until then please enjoy!**

**-Mekon**

* * *

Last Time:

"_Shhhh! You can't go around blabbing about like that" Max exclaimed, but then turned to Ash, "You've got to show me your new form Ash! I really really really really really realllllllllllllyyyyy want to see it! It looked amazing and sooooo cool!" Ash laughed, knowing that not even Max was immune to the unbelievability of his story. Brock shook his head and laughed as well, missing the hilarious interaction between Max and May._

"_Shouldn't you guys be focusing on the fact that we're trying to save the world...again?" Brock asked with a raised brow and a grin, making light of the actual situation they faced._

"_Yeah, what's up with that whole deal? All I could catch was something about elemental aura orbs... and corruption," Max stated, wanting to learn more about these mysterious powerful objects._

"_Long story short: There are some magical orbs scattered all around the world that are connected directly to Arceus, and there is someone that's corrupting them, which is hurting Arceus and the world. Eventually if we don't stop it, all the pokemon in this world will become corrupted and evil. We're here because I need training from Mew and Mewtwo to learn to use my powers, and it just so happens that Mew's home is here at the Tree of Beginning." Ash summed up to the best of his abilities, "And we're hanging out here for a bit now because Mew and Mewtwo are still out trying to find out who is corrupting the orbs." _

_'Yup...that's pretty much where we're at right now,' Latias said, glancing at the clock. There were fifteen minutes left till the first round. 'And speaking of where we're at, I think that you guys need to head over to the competition NOW if you want to make it!' May and Dawn swerved their heads towards the clock and screamed, realizing just how close the actual first round was. _

"_LET'S GO DAWN!" May yelled, having already picked out her outfit a day earlier. She grabbed, Dawn's arm and dragged her out of the door. "WE'LL SEE YOU GUYS AT THE CONTEST!"_

"_GOOD LUCK!" They all called, a bit late. May and Dawn were already out of the door, ready to put on their best for the show ahead. Latias, Ash, Brock and Misty couldn't wait!_

* * *

Ch20: A Little Competition

Ash slowly weaved through the compact aisles of the contest hall, squirming and forcing his way though the stagnant crowds, most of which were too occupied with searching for a free spot to place themselves. In the back of his mind, Ash thanked Arceus that they had been granted reserved seating, being such good friends with many of the competitors in the competitor's box and calling in a few favors. After another brief tussle with another still pool of audience members, they finally pushed their way towards the first few rows, clear and ready to receive them.

"There sure are a lot of people here," Brock commented, jostling past the last inconsiderate bystander that was too busy conversing with one of their friends to move out of the aisles. Misty had no problem, simply brushing past the offending group, making it no mystery to her feelings on their current position in the contest hall.

'Well May and Dawn did mention that this is one of the biggest pokemon contests held in Kanto.' Latias said, 'And I can see what she meant by that. There are people from all over the place.' Everywhere she looked, she could easily pick out foreigners, most noticeably by their pokemon. There were of course a few that were ostensibly dressed, their bright and strange clothing easily poking out of crowd.

They finally got to their premium seating, the second row being elevated perfectly to provide a clear and unobstructed view of the elegantly decorated stage below, the theme matching the medieval setting of the festival. They sighed with relief as they were now able to sit and move around without interference.

"Good morning ladies! Gentlemen! And Pokemon alike!" a voice called over the PA system, "I'm your host for this wonderful contest! Lilian Meridian!" The crowd finally settled down as the auditorium lights began to dim, a comfortable quiet sweeping the room. "This year we are proud to present the sixty-fourth Annual Cameran Contest Extravaganza!" The crowd responded with eager and jubilant cheers, ready to experience the magic that the contest promised. "And now! Let's introduce our judges! The ever respectable Mr. Contesta!"

"It's a pleasure to be here today. I do hope to see some magnificent performances today from our wonderful coordinators who have worked hard to prepare for this moment," Mr. Contesta greeted with a charming smile.

"Mr. Sukizo!"

"Today will be remarkable," he commented coolly, being a man of very few and choice words.

"Our wonderful resident Nurse Joy!"

"It is such an honor to be here today. I wish all the coordinators the best of luck," Nurse Joy said sweetly, and Brock nearly died from the heart-ache.

"And finally! Our guest judge! Queen Ilene! Regal and benevolent ruler of Cameran Palace and our annual sponsor of the yearly Cameran Contest Extravaganza!"

Queen Ilene rose fluidly from her seat flashing the crowd a soft smile and a brief wave, her mime junior imitating her every movement. The audience responded with a thunderous roar, accompanied by occasional whistling, many of which she duly ignored.

"Well then folks, are you ready?" Lilian asked, as the stage lights burst into full power. She was answered with another round of deafening applause from a very anxious crowd. "Alright! Let's welcome our first contestant! Dawn! Who hails from the mystical and far-off land of Sinnoh!"

Dawn took a deep breath. "Here we go," she said to herself as she stepped into the central spotlight, trying to mask her nervous energy with a grin. Piplup smacked her leg lightly, waking the Sinnoh coordinator out of her reverie. Dawn looked down at her faithful partner and smiled, glad that he always had her back. "You're right. No need to worry!" With a release of breath and a cheerful wave, she issued her first command, her blue dress swishing gracefully behind and ready to dazzle the crowd and judges.

* * *

"And now! The judges will now announce the ten coordinators who are advancing to the battle round!" Lilian voice reminded over the PA system, as the enormous television mounted over the center of the stage began to display the winners of the first round. "They will be revealed according to their current ranking!"

Ash and his friends watched with baited breath as the first picture was revealed; it wasn't May or Dawn. The next two pictures came after, with none of them displaying either of the friends. However, on the fourth, Dawn's picture finally came onto the screen. Ash and his friends cheered the hardest amongst the crowd, ecstatic that at least one of them had made it.

They wouldn't have to worry about only one of them making it though. The fifth picture showcased May's smiling face and her extremely happy Skitty.

'They both made it!' Latias cheered, 'I knew they would! They were amazing!' Ash laughed, agreeing wholeheartedly with Latias.

"Yeah they were. They do put a lot of time into their performances," Ash said, thinking about and analyzing some of the combinations moves he had witnessed, seeing what he could use for his upcoming battle. "They definitely deserve it." By now, the ninth picture had already been revealed, and the audience waited, eager to know who the last coordinator was.

"And it looks like Ms. Jessilina is our last coordinator folks! Stay right where you are! The battle round begins right after our thirty minute break!" Ms. Meridian announced as she too walked off the stage to grab a snack. The massive crowd began slowly filing out, many of them wanting space and food.

Ash stood up and stretched, deciding to get a bite to eat and some fresh air. It was nearly lunchtime after all. Riolu and Kirlia hopped up too, feeling a bit stiff after sitting for so long. They were not used to the strange feeling of sitting for extended periods of time. The forest didn't have chairs after all. Latias followed suit, always happy to spend more time with Ash.

"You coming Pikachu?" Ash asked with a smile as he came down to his best friend who was lazily relaxing on the soft cushions of the auditorium. Pikachu looked like he was trying to decide whether or not getting up was worth it. "There's probably free ketchup!" Pikachu's ears popped up, and he stretched, always in the mood for his favorite food. Pikachu hopped up onto Ash's shoulder, ready to go.

Ash politely asked if any of his friends wanted anything from the stall he was going to visit, having spied some of his favorites on the way to the contest hall. Brock, Misty and Max merely replied that they would go to another stall to get food, and he nodded. They exited with a bit of difficulty, and made a beeline for their respective food stalls, the smells already making Ash's stomach growl in anticipation.

Latias latched herself onto Ash's right arm so she wouldn't get swallowed up by the hoard of people fighting to get into the food line. He blushed, deciding not to comment and ignoring the snickering from Pikachu, Riolu and Kirlia.

"So what did you guys think?" Ash asked once they had successfully claimed their place in line, "Was it awesome or was it AWESOME?"

Latias giggled. "Both," she replied, beaming, "I've never seen pokemon use their moves like that before. I would have never thought of some of those combinations! How did May know her Skitty would use Fire Spin from her Assist? Then how did she know that she could somehow combine it with Skitty's Blizzard attack? And how did Dawn get Piplup to wrap his Hydro Pump around his Whirlpool?" Ash laughed, commenting on the fact that May and Dawn always seemed to be able to come up with new combinations without fail. "I wish I could do something cool like that."

"Maybe I'll enter next time with you Latias. How does that sound?" Ash asked with a wink. Latias nearly tackled Ash in happiness, but instead opted for nodding her head vigorously. He chuckled at how excited the red-eon was, and wondered if that was how he looked to all his friends when he got excited.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, they got their food and headed back. Ash made sure to grab a couple handfuls of ketchup packets and stuff them in his pockets for Pikachu, ignoring all the strange looks people were directing towards him. Pikachu was too busy slurping the ketchup from a ketchup packet to care.

They made it to their seats just in time for the first round. The stage lights illuminated the battlefield, revealing the changed stage. On both sides of the stage were large semi-circular platforms, and down the middle of each of these half-circles were long ramps, large enough for a rather good-sized pokemon to walk on. In the center, they connected to a central platform which was a large full circle, that connected both sides. The rest of the stage was filled with crystal clear water, dotted with a few floating platforms no larger than a Houndoom. Ash noticed that the stage was built to resemble the flowing river and castle that was characteristic to the town as seen from the air.

The bell rang and the first battle began.

* * *

"And that last combination did it folks! May's Glaceon's Frozen Shadow Ball scored a direct hit! Yanmega is down and out for the count! This concludes our semi-final round! It looks like May and Dawn will be facing it off in the final contest battle!"

"Whaat! Not FAIR! HOW DID YOUR TINSY LITTLE GLACEON DEFEAT MY YANMEGA!" Jessilina cried out as she stomped off the stage in a rage. May looked on with a puzzled face, wondering why her voice seemed so familiar. She shrugged it off, however, as she nuzzled her Glaceon.

"You were amazing. I couldn't have wished for a better battle," May congratulated, which Glaceon responded in kind with a happy purr. "Let's get some rest. We got a re-match to prepare for!" Her fresh snow pokemon nodded as she followed her trainer into the backstage rest area.

"Congrats May!" Dawn said as her friend returned, "I knew you could do it." May smiled, thanking her friend and competitor.

"Looks like it's going to be me and you again," May said, remembering the results of their prior face-off, "Don't think you'll be getting off easy this time!"

Dawn giggled. "I wouldn't want it any other way! Let's give it our all!" she said with a determined face. May nodded.

"Deal."

* * *

"This is it folks! The final battle between Dawn of the Sinnoh region and May of the Hoenn region. Which coordinator will come out on top? You'll just have to wait and watch!" Lilian said into the mic, pumping up the crowd for the final showdown, "Coordinators take your places!"

"Glaceon! Take the stage!" May called, Glaceon's pokeball releasing a fine storm of ice crystals, highlighting her entrance and beauty.

"Alright! Piplup! Spotlight!" Dawn responded as her pokeball erupted in a flurry of bubbles. Piplup materialized onto the stage, puffing his chest out confidently, ready for action.

"The coordinators will have twenty minutes to reduce their opponents score as far as they can. The first to reduce their opponent's score to zero or knock out their opponent's pokemon will be crowned this year's contest princess! Begin!" Just as Ms. Meridian finished saying this, the buzzer rang, initiating the countdown.

"Piplup! Let's go! Bubblebeam!" Dawn said, hoping to get a first strike in. Her small penguin pokemon unleashed a torrent of forceful bubbles, that rocketed towards Glaceon.

May smirked, predicting an early attack from Dawn. "Return it! Iron Tail then follow it up with a Shadow Ball!" the Hoenn trainer called and watched with satisfaction as Glaceon's hardened tail whacked the incoming bubbles repeatedly, like a batter on the mound. The crowd began to warm up to the battle, knowing that returning bubbles required some finesse and a lot of practice. Once all of the bubbles had been sent back to where they came from, the fresh snow pokemon let loose a powerful shadow ball. Dawn's points were decreased a bit by May's successful counter.

"Peck! Then Bubblebeam again! Pop all of those bubbles!" Piplup's beak elongated to enormous proportions and began glowing with concentrated power. He narrowed his eyes, focusing on each of the oncoming projectiles, spearing them rapidly, using his beck like a rapier. The bubbles burst into a sparkling and harmless mist, which caused May's points to go down.

"What remarkable skill and speed!" Mr. Sukizo complemented, marveling at how fast Piplup's beak had been going.

Piplup wasn't done yet, because once all the bubbles had been popped, he created more, firing them at Glaceon's Shadow Ball. The two attacks collided, creating an explosion and a lot of smoke.

"Quick! Into the pool Piplup!" Dawn commanded, hoping to use the water to their advantage. Piplup eagerly dived in, water being his element.

"Glaceon! Center. Freeze the pool!" Glaceon rushed down the ramp, fired her Ice Beam and spun. Within seconds, Piplup was sealed in a watery tomb, a thick sheet of ice barring his access to the surface. "Then use Ice Shard! Rapid fire!"

The fresh snow pokemon immediately began firing off a volley of sharp and fast ice chucks that pierced the layer of ice, causing Piplup to dodge and swim all over the place. From the underwater camera, the audience was treated to what seemed like a small penguin being shot at by a machine gun, in an artistic way of course. The ice chunks trails were illuminated by a line of fine bubbles, that caused the crowd to 'ooo' and 'ahh' at the power Glaceon was displaying.

Dawn had to act fast before she lost any more points. Making large and blatant motions towards her submerged partner, she issued a non-verbal command, something they had worked out ages ago. Piplup nodded, understanding what his trainer wanted him to do. Dodging even more ice-bullets, Piplup positioned himself directly underneath the platform Glaceon was on and dove downward to the bottom of the pool. Giving a hard kick off of the ground, Piplup began spinning rapidly, his Peck creating and upside-down typhoon.

May knew that a counter was coming, but she had lost sight of the water-type; she would have to react fast if she wanted to gain the upper hand.

Dawn had opted for the shock and awe technique. Most trainers and coordinators would have probably commanded their pokemon to break through the ice. She would do something else. She would break through the stage itself, underneath Glaceon.

It happened so fast. First May heard the blast from Piplup destroying a part of the stage. Then she watched as the penguin pokemon burst out of the water over her Glaceon, who was currently flying through the air, thrown upward by Piplup's attack.

"Quick! Glaceon! Tackle!" May commanded desperately, hoping her fresh snow pokemon could somehow pull an attack out. Glaceon gritted her teeth and looked back, seeing a substantial piece of debris flying up with her. Moving towards it, she kicked off in midair directly at Piplup, scoring a direct hit, sending the small penguin into the ice. Dawn yelled out as she watched her companion crash into the ice still covering much of the water, doing even more damage to her partner.

"Piplup!" Dawn exclaimed, "C'mon! Get out of there!" Moments passed, and the crowd watched in silence, waiting to see if the water-type would burst out of the surface or float to the top. Just as Dawn was about to concede defeat, Piplup rocketed out of the ice, landing in front of Dawn, kneeling on one knee, hurt, but still okay to continue. He was not one to give up so easily. "You alright Piplup?" Dawn's partner nodded, prompting Dawn to make her next move. She surveyed the new battlefield. Ice coated the water and pieces of the stage were scattered all over. Only in the center was a small patch of water still visible. "Let's go! Peck!"

Piplup slid forward, finding the ice as easy to navigate as the water.

"Iron Tail Glaceon!" The fresh snow pokemon, also had a similar advantage on ice, the pads of her feet allowing her easy travel.

The met, blow for blow, back and forth back and forth, like two skilled swordsmen dancing in a heated duel to the death, their weapons unforgiving and unbending as they slid all over the ice. The crowd was going nuts, and May's and Dawn's points both continued to drop.

One particularly strong blow and parry forced the two duelists to slide backward.

"Hydro Bubbles Piplup!"

"Shadow Shards Glaceon!"

Piplup spewed out an enormous beam of water with fast moving bubbles traveling inside for extra punch. Glaceon matched his combo move with her own, firing off multiple Shadow Balls embedded with Ice Shards, which blazed towards Piplup with incredible speed.

Simultaneously, the two attacks collided with a roaring bang, the powerful shock wave whipping everyone's head back into their seat cushions. May and Dawn covered their eyes and face, trying to make out what happened to their pokemon. Their respective pokemon slide back to their sides, readying themselves for one last showdown.

Time was running out, and May and Dawn were basically tied. The next few moves would determine who would win.

"Ice Shadow Ball Rapid Fire!" May yelled, hoping Glaceon's most powerful combo move would be enough to break through Dawn's defenses. The violet-black orbs of energy surged forward and were promptly frozen into deadly ice balls by the fresh snow pokemon's Ice Beam. If they connected, they would explode, sending hundreds of tiny shadow-propelled shards into Piplup and blinding him in smoke.

Not to be outdone, Dawn commanded Piplup to use a new counter combo they had created recently. She hoped that Piplup would be able to pull it off.

"Bubble Whirlpool Counter!"

With just enough time, Piplup summoned a massive whirlpool over his head. However, instead of throwing it as usual, he held it, spewing hundreds of bubbles into the vortex. The bubbles conglomerated, increasing in size before, moving to the outside. Then Piplup cast Bide and let go, the combo dropping onto him!

May watched, aghast, as Glaceon's Ice Shadow Ball attack was grabbed by the bubbles on the spinning vortex and sent careening back with even more force than before with an added bubble attack. She had one shot. If this didn't work, Piplup would be super-charged and would take out Glaceon with one attack.

"Secret Power Full Power! On the water!" Glaceon's eyes glowed a brilliant white as she focused on the water beneath the stage. Suddenly, a colossal wave rose up from the stage, taking all of the water, ice, and debris left on the stage and moved towards Piplup and Dawn. Glaceon's Secret Power had turned into Surf.

The returning Ice Shadow Balls crashing into the debris and massive amounts of ice being carried by the wave, harmlessly being destroyed and shielding Glaceon. May's attack had another crucial effect. Piplup had been on the ice when he had countered, and he lost his footing form the attack, leaving him open to attack.

Dawn couldn't respond in time, and watched hopelessly as the wave of ice, concrete, her counter, and water smashed onto Piplup.

"Piplup!"

Then the buzzer rang, and the crowd's applause and cheering didn't stop for nearly two minutes.

"That's it! The final blow to a spectacular and powerful battle. I'm still coming down from all the excitement!" Lilian proclaimed, "Let's go to our judges to see the final results!"

"A terrific and extremely skilled performance from both trainers! I've never seen such adept command and innovative combinations! I must congratulate both coordinators for their hard work and amazing performance," Mr. Contesta said, extremely pleased, "I believe I can safely say that this was one of the best contest battles I have ever seen!"

"Yes! Simply Remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo added.

"The beautiful combination moves and the speed and power clearly show how much work and time these coordinators put into their pokemon. The amount of love and devotion necessary to achieve this level is to be commended," Nurse Joy said, smiling widely, always happy to see a good relationship between a pokemon and their trainer.

"A magnificent showcase of skill, beauty, quick-thinking, style, and power. This kind of performance truly lets me know that these pokemon and coordinators have worked hard. Our town is blessed to be graced by such dedicated and gifted trainers," Queen Ilene finished.

"Mime Mime Mime Mime Miiiime!"

"And now! We will reveal this year's winner and Contest Princess for a year!" Lilian announced, as the screen began a drum roll. Then it revealed the winner. "May and her Glaceon wins! Congratulations!" (1)

"Wha...I won?" May said, stunned by the result. Glaceon bounded over to her trainer and jumped on her, giving her a loving embrace. "I won!" May laughed as she hugged Glaceon back, ecstatic. She quickly got up to shake Dawn's hand.

"Congratulations May. You were amazing," Dawn said sincerely, as she petted a sore Piplup, "You deserve this."

"Thanks Dawn. You were fantastic as well. It could have gone either way," May responded, shaking her friend's hand. The roar of the approving audience echoed in their ears as they waved to the crowd.

"And now! Queen Ilene will present the awards!"

The Queen slowly walked, around what was left of the stage and made her way to Dawn and May, carrying two large medals, one silver, one gold. Behind her, a levitating golden trophy followed in her wake.

"Congratulations to the both of you," she said warmly, "You have demonstrated uncanny skill and dedication, and for that, I present to you these medals in celebration of your accomplishments." May and Dawn bowed down to allow Queen Ilene to place the medals around their necks, the gold going to May and the silver going to Dawn. "And to the victor, I present this trophy." Ilene's Mime' Jr. released her psychic powers, and the trophy landed with a small crash, in front of May. It was about the size of Max, gilded with complex designs and stamped with the date, name, and royal insignia of Cameran Palace.

May lifted up her trophy to the crowd, holding Dawn in a hug as they faced the cheering crowd with bright and beaming smiles.

* * *

"And the way you did that whirlpool bubble shield thingie was so cool!" Max gushed, having been going over the entire battle for the last forty minutes, continually reiterating the highlights and focal points. Ash and his friends laughed, knowing that was just how Max was.

"Imagine if May hadn't been able to find a way to stop your counter. You would have had it. Even if the attacks had missed, Piplup would have had enough energy and power to instantly take out Glaceon," Brock commented, remarking how close the match actually was.

"Yeah. That was what I was hoping would happen. But she found the weakness in the shield," Dawn replied mareepishly.

"Ehh I was just lucky," May dismissed, not wanting to take away from Dawn's superb performance.

'It was still a really good plan. Both of you were great out there!' Latias said, still calming down from all of the excitement she had experienced in the last hour. May laughed.

"Yeah. I had lots of fun," she responded, "I've really missed you guys. Things have been really quiet without you guys around. Exciting stuff just seems to follow you guys all over, wherever you are."

Max laughed. "You mean, follows Ash around," he deadpanned, eliciting a round of laughs from all of them.

"Speaking of Ash," Brock remarked as he turned to his friend, "Are you ready for your battle?"

"Yeah!" Ash declared, "I just know Riolu, Kirlia and Latias will be great!" He gave them all a grin and a thumbs up.

"Yeah! I can't wait to see them battle!" Max responded, bubbling with the prospect of seeing Ash battle again, especially since he had a legendary pokemon. "There's no way you can lose!"

"Hey! What about me! Don't count me out just yet!" Misty protested with a fierceness in her eyes, "I can't let Ash have all the fun! I can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when I beat you Ketchum!" Misty smirked, knowing exactly what to say to get Ash riled up.

"Ha! We'll see about that Misty!" Ash answered defiantly, a fire burning in his heart and eyes, "There's no way that I'll let you win!"

"Doesn't matter! Because I'll win anyway!"

"Will not!"

"Will Too!"

"WILL NOT!"

"WILL TOO!"

"WILL! NOT!"

"WILL! TOO!"

Ash started again, always eager to continue a yelling match with Misty, but he was cut off by Brock's hand.

"Alright alright. Can it you two. Save that energy for the battlefield," Brock said with a sigh. Misty huffed, pretending to be angry, but a silly grin was plastered on her face that said otherwise. She had missed these pointless arguments.

Ash grumbled something into Brock's still outstretched hand, and Brock released him. The black-eon smiled, turning to his new team. There was about an hour and a half until the first round.

"Latias! Riolu! Kirlia! Pikachu! Let's go! We've got some work to do!"

* * *

Ash stood alone in a large field on the outskirts of Rota, save for his four pokemon. He had a little bit of time to assess the battle prowess of his new pokemon, and fit their strengths to his style appropriately.

"Okay so guys. What moves can you do? I know that Riolu can use Earthquake and Blaze Kick. Kirlia can use Psychic probably. Latias I know can use Mist Ball, Psychic, Dragon Breath and Protect. What else do you guys know?" Ash asked, wanting to make sure he covered all of his bases before he began some tests.

"Shadow Claw and Brick Break are two of my other strong attacks. I can also perform Quick Attack, Force Palm, Bulk Up, Foresight and Low Sweep," Riolu listed off proudly, glad now that his dad had taught him a large variety of moves to use in almost any situation.

"And I can use Thunderbolt, ThunderPunch, Will-O-Wisp, Magical Leaf, Light Screen and, if I start practicing again, Teleport. Confusion is also a handy attack that I bet you could use to your advantage," Kirlia said with a smile, "Riolu's also taught me a lot of hand-to-hand combat since we always trained together." Ash nodded.

"Any status attacks?"

Kirlia blushed. "Well there is this one move that my mom taught me in case of emergencies."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Attract," Kirlia squeaked, her cheeks reddening a bit, and she tried to avoid all eye contact with Riolu, whose left eyebrow went up at her admission. He didn't know she could use that attack.

"That could really come in handy," Ash said, formulating a battle strategy already, "What about you Latias? Anything else you got?" Latias giggled.

"Of course! Recover, Zen Headbutt, Dragon Claw, Dive, Fly, obviously, Aerial Ace, and my secret weapon! Ice Beam," Latias answered happily, "Of course there's all the easy ones like Double Team and Reflect too. And I bet Riolu and Kirlia can do some of those too."

"Wow...you know a lot of powerful moves," Ash remarked, extremely pleased, "And I'm sure they do. How did you learn all those attacks?"

"I had to learn how to protect myself after...well...you know," Latias said, kicking at ground to distract her thoughts away form her brother. Ash's eyes softened, and he patted her shoulder in understanding, telling her she didn't have to continue. Latias looked up and smiled, the hurt being much less than she ever remembered.

"Anyways, we have a great team here, and an even better chance at coming out on top! With you guys I'm sure that we'll win!" the black-eon cheered, "There are a couple of techniques I want to go over though, before we begin the first round. Let's get started!"

* * *

_At the opening ceremony of the annual Hero of the Year competition_

"Welcome! To the 132nd annual Hero of the Year competition in honor of our town's historic heroes, Lucario and Sir Aaron. This year will feature a three versus three battle system with over 108 trainers entered in this year's contest. They come from far and near! Kanto! Hoenn! Sinnoh! Johto! And some even further! All have come to participate, to see if their skills have what it takes to be this year's 'Guardian of the Aura'! No switching is allowed per round. The trainer that knocks out all of their opponent's pokemon will be the winner of the match and move on to the next round!"

"Ready to go guys?" Ash asked as they waited in the tunnels that gave entrance to the colosseum, giving his team a thumbs up.

"Did we have to wear these costumes?" Riolu complained, as he tugged at the adorable red scarf wrapped around his neck. They had decided to dress him up as a medieval ninja, seeing as he already had the skills and black mask to match. However, it was not comfortable at all.

"Oh c'mon Riolu! It's all in good fun!" Kirlia said with a giggle, as she gave a little twirl. They didn't have that much trouble dressing Kirlia, seeing as she already looked like she wore a dress all the time. They had fitted a small blouse on her, colored a light blue and yellow, to go with her already dress-like appearance to complete her look.

"Yeah Riolu! Have some fun!" Latias added with a happy grin as she floated alongside Ash, invisibly.

"Yeah! Says you! You don't even have to put on a ridiculous costume," Riolu growled.

"Well it isn't my fault that you don't have the ability to change your appearance at will," Latias stated, giggling to herself. Riolu was about to respond again, but was stopped by Ash.

"Don't worry Riolu. You'll be out of that costume in no time. It's just for first appearances anyway!" Ash said as he adjusted his top hat. He had decided to go as a fancy count this year, complete with mustache, gilded cane, and monocle. He knew he probably looked ridiculous, but that was the entire point after all.

"And here we go folks! The first battle will be initiated by our returning champion and guardian this year, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town! Give him a warm welcome folks!" the announcer said, followed immediately by the crowd's cheers.

"Let's go!" Ash said as he rushed into the sunlight and the battlefield, feeling that familiar adrenaline pumping through him again.

"His opponent is Rupert Hets! Hailing from Johto! He shall make the first move!"

A rather large build man with a large brown beard, stepped out of the tunnel, dressed in full plate armor and accompanied by similarly sized pokemon, a Tyranitar, a Crawdaunt, and a Electabuzz.

"Let's get this over with! I got a real match to get to!" he taunted, seeing Ash's puny pokemon, wondering how he had managed to win last year. "I bet I could have finished you off with one pokemon! Electabuzz get in there!" His electabuzz surged forward, positioning himself on the battlefield, sparking his two horns menacingly. Ash smirked, always happy to fight jerks like this guy.

"Let's get in there Riolu! Show em what you can do!" Ash said nodding to the empathy pokemon. Riolu nearly jumped for joy. He literally jumped out of his costume, shedding the remaining clothing mid-air and landing on the battlefield with a dramatic kneel. He stood up and smirked, raising his fists.

"Begin!"

"Thunderbolt Electabuzz! Fry that little doggie!" Electabuzz let loose hundreds of volts of electricity, directing it towards Riolu with all intent to electrocute him to a crisp. Ash shook his head, remembering when he used to act so hasty in battle.

"Riolu! Brick Break on the ground then Blaze Kick!" Ash commanded. Riolu immediately smashed his paw into the battlefield, throwing up a large piece of the ground in front of him, absorbing the electricity. Without a moment of hesitation, Riolu ignited his foot and spun, kicking the rock directly towards Electabuzz and coating it in flames.

Rupert watched, completely surprised, as the flaming chunk of earth smashed into his Electabuzz, sending it flying into the wall and crushing it, doing extra effective damage and burning the electric pokemon. With a loud crash, the thrown rock peeled off of Rupert's Electabuzz and landed on the floor, followed immediately by Electabuzz who struggled to stand up. With an enormous effort, the electric type staggered to his feet and looked like he was ready to go again, but just barely.

Ash wouldn't give his opponent the chance, however.

"Earthquake Riolu!" Ash continued, not letting up for a second. Ash's fighting-type surged forward, flipping his body forward and smashing the ground with the end of his leading leg, forming a fissure that headed straight towards the stunned electabuzz. Electabuzz's eyes almost bulged out of his skull, just noticing the attack a second too late. Riolu's Earthquake blasted the wall and sent Electabuzz high into the air, flailing around helplessly. Rupert's pokemon landed after a significant amount of time headfirst into the ground, sealing Electabuzz's defeat. The electric pokemon fell over.

"WHAT!" Rupert screeched, unable to believe his eyes.

"Electabuzz is unable to battle! Riolu is the winner of this round!" the judge announced.

"Unbelievable! Ash's little Riolu was able to take out Rupert's Electabuzz flawlessly. By beginning with an unorthodox counter and transitioning that defense into an offense, Ash has clearly proven that he knows what he's doing," the commentator said, eliciting a cheer from Ash and the crowd. "This kid is not to be underestimated!"

"Ugghh! Crawdaunt! Go!"

"Riolu return. Kilira it's your turn now." Riolu nodded and returned to Ash's side receiving a rewarding pet and congratulations from his friends.

"What an unusual move! Pitting a psychic-type against a dark-type. We'll see what Ash Ketchum has in mind for this battle!"

Ash refocused on the battle at hand. He knew that if Crawdaunt landed a powerful dark attack, Kirlia could potentially lose. He had to be careful.

"Crawdaunt! Show that puny psychic-type what you're made of! Crabhammer then Crunch!"

Crawdaunt rushed forward, raising his claw high above his head, intent on smashing Kirlia to bits.

"Wait for it Kirlia..." Ash said as he watched Crawdaunt come closer and closer to the emotion pokemon. He would have an extremely small window for what he wanted to do. Kirlia prepared herself, ready to move at any moment. The opposing water and dark-type pokemon was just a few feet away now, his attack fully prepared and fully powered. Any second now, Rupert's attack would connect, and just as Crawdaunt came upon Kirlia and began to bring his claw down, Ash made his move. "Now Kirlia! Flip and Light Screen! Make it strong!" Kirlia did a graceful front flip, dodging Crawdaunt's attack and landing behind him.

Within seconds, Kirlia encapsulated Crawdaunt, trapping the rouge pokemon within a blinding box of psychic energy.

"Wow! How unusual! The agility of this psychic-type is not normally seen by her species; most psychic-types would have teleported away. Kirlia effortlessly avoided Crawdaunt's Crabhammer attack. And again, Ash Ketchum is pulling out more surprises. Instead of using Light Screen as a defensive move, Ash Ketchum has altered it to become an offensive move! Crawdaunt is completely trapped!"

"Yeah! Good job Kirlia!" Ash cheered, so glad that that had worked.

"Crawdaunt break outa there!" Rupert cried out, knowing no good would come out of this. Crawdaunt beat uselessly against the psychic prison, but it was no use. The wall of psychic energy was just too strong. "Night Slash go!" Crawdaunt raise his left claw to deliver the powerful slash that would have torn the box to shreds, but Ash wouldn't let him.

"Open the box! Thunderbolt Kirlia! Then close!" The emotion pokemon opened a small hole in her construct and fired her bolt of electricity at the trapped crab. Crawdaunt shrieked in pain as the electricity hit his body and bounced around in the cage, continually damaging him over and over again.

"Crawdaunt is taking a lot of damage now! Obviously Rupert did not expect this kind of battle strategy from Ash and has no answer!" Across from Ash, Rupert was visibly sweating, his mind racing to find an response.

"Get outta there Crawdaunt! Bubblebeam!" Ash's opponent commanded desperately, forgetting about the actual effects of Light Screen. Crawdaunt didn't want to obey, but knew that he had to. He attacked the shield, and as the rouge pokemon knew, the bubbles bounced back. Crawdaunt had attacked himself with his own Bubblebeam and collapsed. "NOOO!"

"Crawdaunt is unable to battle! Kirlia is the winner!"

"Yay!" Kirlia cried out as she bounced happily in her spot, amazed that she had won.

* * *

_In the stands_

"Wow! I would never have thought of using Light Screen like that! Ash has gotten really good!" Max exclaimed, taking avid notes on how to apply some of Ash's ideas into his own battle strategy with Ralts.

"Classic Ash, using a move in the completely opposite way. Using a defensive move for an offensive move and vice versa...Impressive," Brock said, "Rupert had absolutely no idea how to react to that attack."

"Yeah! That Rupert guy doesn't even stand a chance! He's definitely going to lose," May said, reveling in Ash's success.

"He was really overconfident, but he's already two pokemon down. Ash has got this in the bag," Dawn added, taking a sip of her soda nonchalantly.

"And Ash hasn't even used Latias yet," Max stated, "There's no way Rupert can get of this one."

* * *

"This is it folks! The final battle! Does Rupert's Tyranitar have enough 'ompph' take out all three of Ash's pokemon? We're about to find out!"

"Alright Tyranitar! It's all you now!" Rupert yelled, "What's your puny little Pikachu going to do against my massive Tyranitar now!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked threateningly, almost jumping into the battle himself, but was restrained by Ash.

"Don't worry Pikachu. We'll get em for you," Ash said with a grin, looking over his shoulder to an invisible Latias.

"What? Your puny whittle Pikachu scared of my mean ole' Tyranitar?" Rupert shouted, not knowing the hole he was slowly digging for himself. Ash looked up and grinned, not even phased by Rupert's useless threats.

"One...my Pikachu could take out your Tyranitar no problem!...Two...I'm not even going to use Pikachu..." Ash played off coolly. 'Are you ready Latias?' he asked Latias telepathically.

'A bit nervous, but ready to go,' Latias answered, prepping herself for her entrance.

"What are you talking about! There's no other poke..." Ash's opponent started, seeing no other pokemon available to Ash's disposal. The rules had clearly stated that all competing pokemon were to be out of their pokeballs, imitating the days where no such technology was available.

Latias upon hearing the mental cue, dropped her invisibility, becoming visible to everyone: Rupert, the audience, the TV watchers at home, and the entire world. She cooed happily, doing a small back flip as she hovered over the ground. All of the cameras focused on the strange red and white dragon, broadcasting her image across the world.

"What...what is that!" Rupert yelled, never hearing of a pokemon that could spontaneously make themselves invisible and visible at will. Indeed, the entire crowd, save for Ash's friends, were asking the same question. Silence pervaded the stands as everyone observed the strange pokemon.

"I'd like you to meet my wonderful friend and last battler, Latias," Ash introduced calmly, enjoying the shock and confusion filtering rapidly through Rupert's face. Tyranitar back up a little bit, knowing the status of Latias' lineage and birth. Every pokemon could tell when they were in the presence of a legendary.

"Folks! We're getting some news in from out central headquarters! And I for one do not believe what I am seeing here! From the reports coming in, Latias is the legendary eon dragon pokemon! She is reportedly a dragon-type and psychic-type. Can you believe that folks? Ash Ketchum has gotten his hands on a legendary pokemon!" the commentator said into the microphone, causing an explosion of roars and yells to fly from the audience. "Is there anything else this extraordinary young man has up his sleeve? We'll just have to see!"

"Let the final battle begin!" the judge called, standing back to watch the carnage, knowing that everyone was in for a rare treat. Now Ash made the first move.

"Latias! Aerial Ace then move into a Dragon Claw!" Latias put on an incredible burst of speed, moving so fast that she could have passed off for being invisible again. Within a second, Latias was upon Tyranitar and struck, her empowered claws and huge amount of momentum throwing the half-ton Tyranitar into the air, an impressive feat. Obviously, the armor pokemon was not build to fly and landed gracelessly. It would take a lot more than one attack to take Rupert's resilient pokemon out, however.

"Use Dark Pulse Tyranitar!" The rock and dark-type pokemon stood up with a grunt and gathered dark energy in his claws, firing it at Latias. The red eon swerved instinctively to the right, dodging the attack. This bought Rupert some time to devise an offensive strategy. "Use Dig! Legendary or not, it's going down!" Tyranitar halted his assault and dove straight into the ground, creating a deep hole in the ground and hiding himself from Latias.

Ash knew Rupert had two options, attack directly with a physical attack or use a special move underground to hit Latias. Either way, he didn't want Latias to get hit. "Mist Ball on the ground!" Latias wasn't sure what Ash planned to do, but she knew to trust Ash. Forming the ball of psychic mist in her claws, she released and watched as the special cloud of energy spread out over the battlefield. She grinned, knowing what Ash had had wanted to accomplish.

"What is this crazy stuff? Ehh! Whatever! Tyranitar! Use Crunch!" Rupert cried through the thick mist, his vision of the battlefield obscured to mere silhouettes.

'You know what to do with the mist Latias,' Ash telepathed, before issuing his command. "Let's go Latias! Dragonbreath!" Latias' eyes lit up as she searched her mist for Tyranitar's entrance. Because her mist was made up of her psychic power, she was able to spread her sentience through the attack and scan for the enemy. It had already diffused into the ground, allowing Latias to pinpoint exactly where Tyranitar was going to burst out of the ground, to her left.

Latias spun, finding her face literally staring down Tyranitar's throat and razor sharp teeth. Without a moment of hesitation, she let loose a stream of deadly dragon-fire...directly into Tyranitar's mouth. The rouge pokemon would have roared with pain if his mouth wasn't currently being attacked.

Outside of the cloud, the crowd saw a flash of the brightest green shine from the strange blue smoke. What was going on down there?

"Let's finish this up Latias! Ice Beam!" Ash commanded, knowing the mist would fall soon. Rupert was in full panic mode. He heard the attack that Ash had called out, and knew that it would be all over for him if it succeeded.

"Tyranitar! Screech!" Rupert commanded, unknowingly committing himself to defeat. He had no idea that Tyranitar's mouth was currently unusable.

Latias commenced her final attack, blasting the rock and dark-type with a powerful Ice Beam straight to the chest. Tyranitar's eyes lit up in intense pain, the rapid change from hot to cold doing super-effective damage. (2) Rupert knew something was wrong when he didn't hear his pokemon's ear-piercing attack.

Finally, the mist cleared, and everyone leaned forward as if it would help them get close to the action and determine what had just happened.

What they discovered was a completely frozen Tyranitar-sicle. They waited a few moments, and not a single sign of movement was seen from the ice-encapsulated pokemon.

"Tyranitar is unable to battle! Latias is the winner! Ash wins the match!" the judge called, waving his blue winner flag to Ash's side.

"Yeah! Great job Latias!" Ash said as he was thrown into a hug by the large red-eon dragon.

'Couldn't have done it without you Ash!' Latias answered back, nuzzling Ash's face affectionately.

"Amazing! Let's watch a play-back of that last move!" the announcer said, his voice nearly hitting the roof in excitement. The screen hanging above the commentator's booth displayed the last confrontation. "Would you look at that! Latias anticipated where Tyranitar would come out of the ground and fired a Dragonbreath attack point blank! Straight into the mouth!" Rupert hung his head low, feeling like a complete failure. "And she finishes Tyranitar off with a Ice Beam to the chest! What a move! There's no question why this powerful pokemon is a legendary!"

Rupert collected his fainted pokemon, and walked up to Ash.

"Congratulations...now I see why you were the champion last year. You got some skills kid," he conceded, shaking the boy's hand. At least he was a good sport.

"Thanks. Don't worry. I can tell that you really raised your pokemon well too. I'm sure you'll do great next year," Ash said, knowing that Rupert was probably feeling crushed right now. He had felt that many times before. Rupert chuckled at his response.

"Thanks kid. Knock em dead for me huh? After all if you beat me, you got to beat them all so I can say I was beaten by none other than the best," he answered, a small smile now back on his face.

"I'll do my best. Good match," Ash responded, glad that Rupert had gotten some of his confidence back. Rupert walked back to the tunnel and disappeared from view. The first match was over.

"And there we go folks! A spectacular first match by our past guardian! Ash Ketchum! There is no question that this kid is special!"

Ash waved to the crowd, tipping his hat to his friends. Then, he returned to his tunnel, his arm draped around Latias' neck the entire time.

* * *

_In the Royal Box_

"A wonderful match indeed," Jenny, Queen Ilene's maid said, clapping her hands together, "That boy sure is something. Catching a legendary..." Queen Ilene smiled, remembering his actions which had saved her kingdom last year.

"Yes. He has a bright destiny ahead," Ilene answered, as she watched the screen. Ash was currently being mobbed by a mass of reporters, scientists and fans.

"Ehh whatever. He's not that special," an annoyed voice answered to Queen Ilene's right. She sighed, looking back to the voice. "I could trump him any day."

"Jason must you always be so derogatory towards others?" she asked, shaking her head.

"Hmph...I'm only 'derogatory' towards those who are not worth my time 'auntie'," he answered, folding his arms.

"Now young man! That's no way to act! Queen Ilene was kind enough to take you in this summer, seeing as your parents couldn't deal with you. She may be able to put up with your rudeness, but I for one will not tolerate such insolence, Jason Trent Malatyon!" Jenny yelled as she smacked the side of Jason's head, which caused the boy to cry out in pain. A small smile tugged the side of Queen Ilene's lips, and she decided to not intervene.

"Whatever..." Jason mumbled as he nursed his wounds. He looked up to the screen to avoid Queen Ilene's maid, and his eye's widened at what he saw. He seethed with jealousy as he witnessed the girl he had met earlier at the pokemon center, Tia, hanging on the arm of Ash Ketchum. "Oh it is on..."

* * *

(1) Wanted to even the score between Dawn and May. It's 1-1 now!

(2) Now I know some people will say Ice isn't super effective against Rock. But in this case, it's the rapid change from hot to cold that's doing the massive amount of damage. It's like super-heating and rock and then rapidly freezing it. It would crack and break under the strain.

Haha it was really fun to get Queen Ilene's maid to smack Jason around. I must do that some more. :D

For now you've gotten a one-sided battle, just to show how good Riolu, Kirlia and Latias really are. The real challenges lie just ahead.

I know that this is mainly a filler chapter, but trust me! Things are really really going to pick up next chapter! We'll be getting back to our quest in no time!

And now...

...I'm going to hide in my bunker with reinforced armor, trip wires, land mines, anti-matter shields and a time-flux aura generator now so I can hide from you guys! I know I ended with a cliffy!

And I know! It's been ages! And ages! And aggggees! (3 months to be exact.) And I'm really really really really really really (x100) sorry! I've been so busy with finding colleges to apply to, scholarships, my new job (the worst part x.x), relationship stuff, relatives visiting for the summer (from Europe no less!), starting on my senior thesis, and a multitude of other projects! I'm really trying guys I promise!

I don't want to keep you guys waiting. I want you to know I really appreciate all of the continued support and beg for your understanding and forgiveness! I'm going to try to do weekly or bi-weekly updates from now on! If something comes up, I'll post update statuses on my profile, so check there if you want to know when the next update could be.

Anyways, I'm rambling now. Oh this has been here for a while, but I just don't feel right not giving it publicity.

**The Black Latios – Kirlia and Riolu – Submitted by AquaShine**

aquashines . deviantart art / The – Black – Latios – Kirlia – and – Riolu - 298238850

And I just got this one! :D

**The Black Latios (game sprite) – Submitted by ben10tristan**

www . youtube watch ? v = bGhyIsDVv8w

And Finally!

**Over 400 reviews! (Dies) You guys are really amazing! :D**

Thank you so much for your continued love and support! And thank you for reading and please review!

-Mekon


	22. Ch21: Persistent Pests

**DISCLAIMER**

Nintendo...look at your ownership...now back to me...now back to your ownership..now back to me...sadly I don't own Pokemon!

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last time:

_In the Royal Box_

"_A wonderful match indeed," Jenny, Queen Ilene's maid said, clapping her hands together, "That boy sure is something. Catching a legendary..." Queen Ilene smiled, remembering his actions which had saved his kingdom last year._

"_Yes. He has a bright destiny ahead," Ilene answered, as she watched the screen. Ash was currently being mobbed by a mass of reporters, scientists and fans. _

"_Ehh whatever. He's not that special," an annoyed voice answered to Queen Ilene's right. She sighed, looking back to the voice. "I could trump him any day."_

"_Jason must you always be so derogatory towards others?" she asked, shaking her head._

"_Hmph...I'm only 'derogatory' towards those who are not worth my time 'auntie'," he answered, folding his arms._

"_Now young man! That's no way to act! Queen Ilene was kind enough to take you in this summer, seeing as your parents couldn't deal with you. She may be able to put up with your rudeness, but I for one will not tolerate such insolence, Jason Trent Malatyon!" Jenny yelled as she smacked the side of Jason's head, which caused the boy to cry out in pain. A small smile tugged the side of Queen Ilene's lips, and she decided to not intervene._

"_Whatever..." Jason mumbled as he nursed his wounds. He looked up to the screen to avoid Queen Ilene's maid, and his eye's widened at what he saw. He seethed with jealousy as he witnessed the girl he had met earlier at the pokemon center, Tia, hanging on the arm of Ash Ketchum. "Oh it's on!"_

* * *

**A/N **

Thank you all so much for being so patient and supportive. Hopefully I won't lose documents again.

-Mekon

* * *

Ch21: Persistent Pests

"And Misty will advance to the semi-final rounds, doing so with a surprising and highly deadly flamethrower attack from her Gyarados. Clarence's Venusaur was burnt to a crisp, ending the match for an unexpected win for Misty Waterflower!"

"Yes! Great job Gyarados!" Misty cheered, causing her mighty atrocious pokemon to roar with a victorious tail slam. She returned him to his pokeball, telling him to get some well-deserved rest. Lightly jogging up to Clarence, she shook his hand amiably and returned to the waiting area.

The afternoon had simply flown by. The battles had ranged from absolutely stunning to mediocre in quality and action, but now, it all boiled down to the semi-final rounds, which Ash was currently participating in. If she could win another battle, Misty would have a shot at being the champion and beating Ash. She knew it was more than likely that Ash would advance to the final round, and she looked forward to battling her best friend.

Walking over to the leaderboards, she arrived just in time to see Ash move up on the board, meaning that he had already won his semi-final match and would be waiting for her just as she expected. Tracing her name on the screen, she found her potential opponents. It would be between a guy named Jason Malatyon and a girl named Hershey Lila.

"Jason...Malatyon...where have I heard that name before?" Misty asked herself, tapping her lip in puzzlement. Shuffling through her memories, she was able to narrow down her memory to 'angry' and 'morning'. "Morning...morning...morning."

Suddenly, the screen lit up, announcing that Jason had defeated Ms. Lila and displaying him on the screen, smirking and waving half-heartedly to the 'commoners'. His pompous mug was displayed plainly for Misty to remember. "HIM!"

Giving a nonchalant hair-flip to the crowd, he exited and Misty watched his retreating figure on the screen, seething with hatred as she imagined burning his figure into ashes with her eyes. She could hear the echo of his footsteps reverberating down the hall, took a seat and picked up a magazine, trying to avoid him as much as possible.

"What a simply pathetic battle. My dear Aria had no trouble dispatching her poor opponent," Jason announced, unaware of the fact that no one cared. "Now then, who is the next trainer that will have the privilege of facing me?" Moving swiftly to the chart, he found his next opponent. "Misty Waterflower. My, my...what a beautiful name. Perhaps I'll take her to dinner after this if she's good looking."

"Not. Going. To. Happen," Misty ground out between her teeth, seeing red at the mere suggestion. She had nearly ripped her magazine in half; she was that angry.

"You! You're Misty Waterflower?" Jason exclaimed, extremely surprised to find the person who owned that 'beautiful name' was the girl that had chewed him out this morning.

"That's right," she snapped, her mallet already primed, "And you're that jerk that was bothering Tia this morning." At the mere mentioning of the name 'Tia', Jason's focus completely shifted, his eyes glazing over.

"Oh Tia! A name that causes my heart to ache with longing!" he proclaimed dramatcially, causing Misty to roll her eyes and fold her arms. "Where is she? Tell me!"

"Forget it! And forget about Tia too...She's hopelessly in love with someone else. You don't stand a chance," the fiery red-head bit back, a detectable amount of bitterness in her voice, finding her sentence a little hard to swallow herself. Jason frowned, his expression darkening.

"It's that Ash Ketchum isn't it? Well that doesn't matter. I'll win Tia from him and show her who the real man is! Only I deserve her!" he declared furiously, causing Misty to genuinely laugh.

"You don't stand a chance. One, it's Ash. Two, you're up against me, and I'd never let you win," Misty answered, "Plus...you're just not Tia's type. There's no way she'd ever be interested in a person like you." Jason's eyes narrowed, anger leaking out of every pore of his body. Misty enjoyed it immensely.

"We'll see about that," he finished, curtly turning on his heels, leaving Misty along, much to her relief.

"Let's see what you got, pretty boy..."

* * *

_In the opposite, pokemon trainer's lounge_

Jason chuckled mischievously to himself as he held an unmarked and covered package which he had smuggled in past the guards. Unwrapping the cloth bundle, several small bottles rolled out of the cloth labeled "X Attack" and "X Speed", pokemon drugs that were designed to empower one's pokemon with more power and speed respectively for a short amount of time. However, they were banned from official pokemon competitions, because their usage did not appropriately reflect the true skill of the pokemon trainer and their pokemon.

Disregarding the rules, he fed both types of pills to all of his competing pokemon, something he had been doing for the entire competition. His pokemon resisted the constant feeding, but reluctantly obeyed their master, taking another dosage of pills.

"Let's see that impudent redhead beat me now!"

* * *

"And here is our second and final semi-final match of the day folks! So far, Misty Waterflower has trounced all of her opponents with her versatile battle style and cool head. Her faithful team of water-pokemon haven't let up a single bit. However, will it be enough to beat the royal nephew of our beloved Queen Ilene, who has so far shown exceptional prowess and skill on the battlefield? Get ready, folks! You won't want to miss this one!"

"Royal nephew huh?" Misty muttered under her breath, "More like a royal pain in the..."

"Are you ready Ms. Waterflower?" the referee asked, noticing her distracted demeanor.

"Oh! Yes," she replied sweetly, getting her head back in the game. "I'm ready sir!" He nodded in confirmation. After receiving a similar confirmation from Jason, albeit one that was significantly less cordial, he called for the match to begin.

"Golduck! I choose you!" Misty called, relying on her old friend to help her crush Jason.

"Heh...Vesi, show them true power," Jason replied coolly, tossing his pokeball onto the stage, releasing a large and menacing vespiquen. Misty resisted the urge to shriek and run away at the sight of the bug pokemon, but her quivering legs gave her away. Jason smirked. He was going to have some fun in this pokemon battle.

* * *

"Gyarados! Hydro Pump!"

"X-Sissor, Scizor!"

Gyarados' attack met Scizor's head on, causing a power struggle. The atrocious pokemon roared in anger. He would not be beat so easily. Increasing the power of his attack, the torrent of water eventually broke through the bug and steel-type's attack and hosed him right into the ground. When the water attack finally stopped, Misty smirked in satisfaction, much to the annoyance of Jason.

"Scizor is unable to battle! Gyarados is the winner!" the referee announced, "Jason must now choose his third and final pokemon."

Jason literally growled, wondering how Misty had bested two of his pokemon already. He had thought he had had it in the bag when he had knocked out Golduck and Corsola. However, Jason hadn't counted on Misty's gyarados being so powerful. Seemingly effortlessly, Gyarados had torn through his vespiquen and now his scizor. He had one chance left.

"Aria! Finish this common fish!" Jason yelled, summoning his last pokemon, an ariados. This time, Misty did shriek, finding the giant spider repulsive and horrible to look at.

"What is up with you and bug pokemon!" she yelled, infuriated that all of his pokemon had almost sent her into cardiac arrest. Jason merely crossed his arms and scoffed.

"Bug-types are the most majestic pokemon, filled with so much potential and ability. All it takes is a little bit of pushing to bring them to full metamorphosis," he replied airily, "Of course, a mind as down-trodden as yours would never understand." Jason felt the urge to back up for a moment as he looked towards his opponent, a column of angry steam coming from her ears.

"Whatever. I just think they are pests! Just like you are," Misty screamed, "Gyarados! Whrilpool! Get rid of that ugly bug!" At her command, Gyarados conjured up an floating tornado of water and flung it at the small bug. It was so enormous that the shadow of the attack covered the entire half of the stage on Jason's end.

With a laugh, Jason issued his command. "Psychic!" Ariados' eyes lit up as she concentrated on the deluge of water currently falling towards her. With close to little effort, the attack was stopped in mid-air and sent straight back at Gyarados, smashing his face with the watery attack.

"What!" the redhead screeched, unable to believe her eyes.

Misty was extremely worried. Normally, even a regular psychic type would have trouble with repelling Gyarados' attacks, but this ariados wasn't even a psychic-type and had easily reflected her attack. How was it possible?

"Well we got our own surprises! Gyarados! Ice Beam!"

"Shadow Sneak! Avoid that attack and get in close! Then Toxic!"

Ariados shot off, disappearing into shadows and dodging the deadly Ice Beam attack which had left a glacial spike at the exact spot where Aria had previously occupied. Misty continued to urge her Gyarados on, knowing that hitting the bug-type with the attack would spell certain doom to her opponent. She watched as her atrocious pokemon fired round after round of ice, coating the floor in a thick sheet of frozen water. However, none of them had encased a speeding Ariados that was rapidly approaching.

Then it was on Gyarados, clinging to his back like a spider would stick to a web.

"Behind you Gyarados! Dragon Rage!"

Gyarados bucked up and down, firing off random beams of dragon-fire hoping to throw off the clinging bug and attack her. It was too late though. Ariados bit Gyarados, injecting her Toxic attack into the water and flying-type pokemon, eliciting a roar of pain from the water and flying-type from the atrocious pokemon. Now it was only a matter of time.

The atrocious pokemon roared in anguish as the debilitating toxins ravaged his body, sapping him of his strength.

"Now! End this! Leech Life Aria!"

"C'mon Gyarados! You can do it! Get that bug off of you and smash it!"

Misty watched hopelessly as Aria continued to cling to Gyarados' back, leeching the life and energy out of her pokemon. No matter how much thrashing and jumping he did, the persistent pest held on tight and continued to take more and more energy away from him. The more he tried to resist, the worse the poison got. Coupled with the Leech Life attack, Gyarados just couldn't hold on.

With a low moan, Gyarados fell, defeated by the combination of Toxic and Leech Life. Jason had won.

* * *

"Stupid stuck up infuriating jerk..." Misty mumbled under her breath as she sat down next to Brock and May, "One day I'm going to get him back for this..."

"It's okay Misty," May answered, "Ash will get him for you." She sighed.

"Besides. He did beat you fair and square," Max said, receiving an instant mallet to the head. "Ow!"

"Not smart Max..." Brock said, shaking his head, knowing just how much that mallet hurt.

"Fair and square...hah...and one day, we'll discover a fire and bug type pokemon!(1)" Misty answered sarcastically, "There's no way his pokemon were that powerful or fast. He doesn't seem like the intense training type, and reflecting Gyarados' Whirlpool? Something doesn't quite fit." She stood up abruptly, walking off without another word.

"What are you doing Misty?" Dawn asked as the redhead passed her at the end of the bench.

"Investigating."

* * *

"And this is it folks! The culmination of all the battles and matches you've seen today! And you're getting just that. For our final showdown, we have the extremely powerful and experienced Ash Ketchum who has just dominated all of his opponents this afternoon with his surprising versatility and ingenuity. Plus, having a legendary pokemon on hand definitely helps!" the announcer said to the roaring cheers of the crowd, "But! Will Jason Malatyon have something special up his sleeve that could counter Ash's pokemon and his battle strategies? We're about to see in the final match of the afternoon that will determine who will be crowned this year's guardian of the Aura!"

"And who wins Tia," Jason said to himself as he prepared himself in the trainer tunnels. Stepping out into the stage lights, he waved to the crowd, letting his ego bask in the limelight.

Conversely, Ash entered just moments after Jason and merely smiled to the crowd. The cheers rose up exponentially in volume in response to Ash's presence, and Jason twitched in anger and jealousy.

Finishing up his walk to the field, he was finally able to meet this Ash Ketchum, face to face.

"Hey! Let's have a good fair battle!" Ash called in good spirits, still smiling, oblivious to the thoughts of his cheating opponent.

"Unfortunately, things are never fair in a battle for love!" Jason announced, causing the crowd to quiet down. They were all wondering what Jason was talking about. The referee paused, interested in what was going to happen next.

"Huh? Love? What are you talking about?" Ash asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"You! You are undeserving of Tia's affections! I challenge you for her! The winner will decide who is truly worthy of her," he demanded, causing Ash's face to screw up.

'What is this guy going on about?' he asked Latias, who was floating invisibly behind him.

'Argh! I thought this guy was gone already!' she exclaimed, staring daggers at the puffed up prince. If only she had been visible; her stare alone would have sent Jason running for the hills.

'Who is this guy anyway?'

'Some guy who tried to be all charming to win me over at the pokemon center. He's a pompous, egotistical, sexist, elitist jerk!' she replied, each word punctuated by an angry trill.

Ash didn't know why, but he felt so much better when Latias had insulted Jason. Something in his head and heart calmed, and returned to their peaceful rest.

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked, looking Jason straight in the eye.

"The lovely Tia will be mine," he continued, "Her beauty and grace is not worthy of your common self! Only I, Prince Jason Malatyon, shall have her."

Ash laughed a long and hard laugh, doubling over on his knees. Wiping some tears from his eyes, he returned to battle ready stance.

"Come and get her then," Ash answered, letting his own insticts take over, a new fierceness in his eyes, "But I'm not going to let you win anyway. She's not yours to claim." Jason merely grunted in response, pulling out his first pokeball.

"Kirlia you're up," Ash said, giving her a pat on the head, "I know that they are all bug types, but you can do it."

"Good luck!" Riolu added "Remember! Keep light on your feet and anticipate!" She nodded, giving him an hug.

"Vesi! Cut down that little psychic-type," Jason yelled, his beehive pokemon clicking angrily, eager to get her pincers on the green and white emotion pokemon. "Poison Sting!"

Vespiquen unleashed a rapid fire of white poison darts that whistled in the air as they sped towards Kirlia, intent on skewering the little pokemon.

"Double Team and Light Screen!" Ash said, watching happily as Kirlia split into a couple dozen copies of herself and cast a light screen on each clone. Vespiquen was having trouble finding which Kirlia was the real one. The light screen prevented her from discerning which one was the real one and also hid the emotion pokemon from her attacks.

"Will-O-Wisp!"

Jason's eyes lit up in alarm. That fire attack would greatly decrease Vesi's health points and possibly leave him with one pokemon down. Reacting on instinct, he commanded his pokemon to fly up into the air.

Just as Vespiquen took off, a dozen balls of fire issued from the mirror images of Kirlia, meeting at the center and creating a fire cloud in the resulting explosion. Vespiquen cried out in anguish as some of the fire hit her wings. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but she was grounded.

"This isn't over! Vesi, Pursuit!"

Vesi disappeared in a cloud of smoke and materialized right behind Kirlia, causing the psychic-type to gasp. Bringing her claws down, Vespiquen attacked, and Kirlia's shrieks of pain echoed across the field as the claws raked across her body.

"Kirlia!" Riolu cried out as he watched the beehive pokemon strike his friend in the back, throwing her into the battlefield wall, embedding the psychic pokemon a few inches deep into the concrete. He almost rushed into battle himself, but Ash held him back, shaking his head.

"She can do it Riolu. Trust her," he said to the emanation pokemon. Reluctantly, Riolu stayed back, watching anxiously and hoping that Ash was right.

Vespiquen continued her assault following up her attack with Fury Cutter, doing more damage to Kirlia. She couldn't take much more. Kirlia fell off of the wall, her landing being nothing more than a little thump and poof of dust.

"Kirlia! Get up! You can do it!" Ash encouraged as he watched his pokemon peel herself off of the ground. The emotion pokemon shook her head fiercely to clear the spiking signals of pain that were coursing through her body.

"Oh no she can't!" Jason yelled, "Pursuit again! Take that psychic-type out!" Vespiquen disappeared in another cloud of smoke and would reappear in a matter of moments. Ash and Kirlia had to be ready.

Vesi materialized in a cloud of black smog, raising her claws, hoping to get in one final blow to finish Kirlia off. Ash wouldn't have it, however.

"ThunderPunch!"

Kirlia spun and slug her fist into the beehive pokemon's face, sending super-effective shock waves of damage through her body combined with the force of the punch. Vespiquen shot up into the air, paralyzed and unable to use her wings. Stepping back, Kirlia watched happily as the beehive pokemon was subjugated to the cruel forces of gravity and smashed into the ground high speeds.

The dust cleared and a large vespiquen shaped crater remained with a literally grounded Vesipquen.

The referee looked into the hole and made his call. "Vespiquen is unable to battle! Kirlia wins!"

"Yes! Great job Kirlia!" Ash cheered, pulling her into a hug, relieved that she had pulled it off. Ash had been worried there for a moment. After being released, Riolu immediately began looking her over for injuries.

"You okay?" he asked worriedly, hurriedly checking her over for any serious signs of damage or injury.

"I'm alright Riolu. Don't worry," she answered happily, feeling accomplished. That was the first real challenging battle she had experienced, and she felt extremely proud to have been the victor.

"You were amazing out there," Riolu said after he deemed her basically healthy.

"All thanks to you and Ash of course," she answered, causing Riolu to practically beam with happiness and pride, "But now, it's your turn Riolu."

The emanation pokemon looked up, and instantly his eyes connected with his opponent, Jason's extremely fast and formidable Scizor. Beating this pokemon wouldn't be easy.

"You got this Riolu," Ash said, giving him a nod of confidence.

"Go and get em," Kirlia added, pecking him lightly on the cheek and sending him on his way. Latias and Pikachu laughed quietly to themselves as they watched Riolu make his way to the battlefield, looking like he had been hit by a truck and hung upside down.

Shaking himself to pull his head back into the real world, Riolu took his stance, ready to fight.

"This should be a relatively simple battle," Jason commented, having had the hubris to not check the previous battle videos or trainer informations. He had no idea what Riolu was capable of, other than what he had seen during the first match. Ash and Riolu decided to remain quiet, wanting to let the battle speak for itself.

The referee signaled for the beginning of the second round, and they were off.

"Riolu! Quick Attack!" Riolu surged forward, letting his powerful hind legs propel him towards his enemy at high speeds.

"Hmph...you want speed? Scizor! Agility! Then use Metal Claw!" Moments before Riolu's attack connected, Scizor disappeared, becoming so fast that he seemed invisible to the naked eye.

"Concentrate Riolu! I know you can find him! Counter that attack with Shadow Claw." Riolu's head swerved left and right, trying desperately to pinpoint the where Scizor was going to strike. With just his eyes, Riolu had no idea where Scizor was going to attack. "Don't rely only on sight Riolu!"

Trusting Ash, Riolu closed his eyes and fanned out his senses, listening for the wingbeasts of the scizor and feeling for the small currents left in his wake. A faint aural outline-

Left!

Turning on the balls of his feet, Riolu smashed his left paw, now surrounded by powerful ghostly energy, at the direction, feeling his attack meet resistance. He opened his eyes to find his attack perfectly blocking Scizor's Metal Claw. Scizor grinned manically as if he accepted the challenge currently being sent to him.

"Quick! Now Low Sweep!" Ash exclaimed, so excited that Riolu had managed to find Scizor and effectively counter him.

Taking his back left leg, Riolu swung it in a clockwise motion, literally sweeping Scizor off of his feet, causing the pincer pokemon to fall onto the floor in a painful thud.

"Brick Break!"

"X-Scissor!"

Riolu's attack collided with Scizor's X'Scissor, no clear victor present at first. Both pokemons' faces turned into determined grimaces as they both struggled to be the winner. Ash and Jason waited, cheering on and urging their respective pokemon to overcome the other's attack. Something had to give way.

Riolu's eyes grew wide as he felt his attack being pushed back. X'Scissor was just more powerful than Brick Break, and the emanation pokemon grunted painfully as he felt the scizor's attack breaking through and connecting with his chin, sending him high up into the air.

"Riolu!"

"Yea! Now Flash Cannon, Scizor, quickly!" Finding his position optimal, Scizor fired directly up at the flying blue fighting-type. The aim was true and the burst of energy smashed into Riolu for even more damage, blasting him to a height that Team Rocket would be proud of. "Aerial Ace! Keep that dog up in the air and finish it!" Instantly, the pincer pokemon disappeared into the sky, slipstreams of sharp air gathering around his body.

Ash watched helplessly as Scizor attacked again and again, back and forth, up and down, left and right. No matter what he tried to do to counter the attack, Scizor would find an opening and strike there.

"You have to get out of there Riolu!" Ash shouted desperately, knowing that his pokemon wouldn't be able to take much more. The hits kept adding up: one..two...four...six...

Up in the air, Riolu wasn't having any fun at all. He knew that Ash was counting on him, but no matter how much he tried he just couldn't block and escape the aerial assault. He was tumbling and rolling all over the place, his orientation completely thrown off. Scizor was just too fast in the air, and he was at an extreme disadvantage. If only he had learned a projectile attack of some kind.

Jason laughed maniacally, finding much glee in his near victory.

"Just surrender now! It is pointless to continue this charade!"

"Riolu! I know you can do it!" Kirlia screamed, small tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. She couldn't take seeing Riolu getting battered left and right without pause. At that moment, Riolu laid his eyes on his best friend, gathering a new found strength.

He was going to beat this scizor, no matter what. Spreading out his senses again, he found him just in time. Staring down his enemy face to face in the air, he closed his eyes and threw all of his anger, hope, strength and determination at him, growling fiercely.

The next thing he heard was the sounds of Scizor being hit and an explosion, but he had no idea what had hit his opponent.

He opened his eyes to see a huge cloud of smoke and was thrown back by the force of the blast that had taken place.

"Would you look at that folks! Riolu just used Aura Sphere to repel Scizor, scoring a direct hit and getting the little guy out of that big jam!" the announcer said, his commentary drowned out by the crowd. None of them had expected an Aura Sphere attack. (2)

"Yes! Great job Riolu!" Ash cheered as Riolu landed safely on the floor, a bit down, but not out. "Aura Sphere again!" The emanation pokemon didn't hesitate. He fired just as Scizor was getting up on his feet, scoring another hit and wearing down Scizor even further.

"It's not over yet! Bullet Punch!"

"Quick Attack!"

Like two white lights, both pokemon sped towards each other, intent on taking the other one out. They were getting closer and closer, and any moment now they would hit. The resultant hit would probably be enough to faint both pokemon.

However, at the last possible moment, Ash made his move.

"Blaze Kick!"

Riolu flipped, showering his back leg in a deadly fire and smashing it directly into Scizor's face.

"No!" Jason screeched as he witnessed the attack connect, knowing that he had lost this round. Indeed, Scizor lay in a pile of rubble, fainted and completely out of commission.

"Amazing! Ash Ketchum used the speed of Riolu's Quick Attack to simultaneously gain more power and get close to Scizor! What a fantastic finishing move!" the commentator said, blown away by the unexpected move. Likewise, the audience could not remain quiet and applauded Riolu and Ash's amazing performance.

Tiredly, Riolu dragged himself back to Kirlia, Ash, Pikachu and Latias, completely spent after that taxing battle.

After being showered with much praise and congratulations, all Riolu wanted to do was sleep in the warm embrace of his best friend.

* * *

_Meanwhile With Misty_

"I understand that you left something back there miss. However, it is against the official policy of this pokemon competition to allow any defeated competitors into the lounge area," a guard said plainly.

"But it's important! I'm..." Misty began, her temper beginning to show.

"If you wish to retrieve any of your items or file a complaint, please see the main desk. Otherwise, I am going to have to ask you to leave immediately," the guard cut off, not wanting to deal with this for another minute.

"Fine..." she conceded, stalking away angrily. The moment Misty was out of sight, the guard let out a breath of relief. He hated browbeating.

Suddenly, a gravelly, croaking noise made its way down the hallway, causing the guard to jump in surprise. He walked into the offending hallway, looking left and right, finding no owner of the strange sound. Then he saw a strange croagunk walk out of the adjacent hall and stroll down his hallway.

"Umm...hello? Did anyone lose their croagunk?" he asked out loud to an apparently empty hallway, earning no response in turn. He had reasoned that perhaps it was that girl's, but he remembered that there was no croagunk registered to her roster when he had checked her pokedex for identification. He sighed and went after the wandering pokemon, abandoning his post.

"Great work Croagunk," Misty whispered as she slipped out of the janitors closet and into the lounge area. "I hope Brock doesn't mind that I borrowed Croagunk," she said to herself, "Anyways, on to the search."

Misty looked all over, finding nothing strange or unusual. Everything seemed to be as it should be. The magazines were still scattered on the coffee table and the coffee was still in the coffee maker.

Then out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a small sliver of cloth sticking out of one of the lockers. She didn't like prying, but she had to see if it was anything of importance. Swinging the locker open, she found an unmarked cloth package, and she opened it.

Misty gasped as she laid her eyes on the contents of the cloth.

"Gotcha! You little cheating piece of..."

"Ahem!"

Misty zipped around to find herself staring directly at a very angry guard, clutching a still croaking Croagunk.

"Uhhh...I can explain..." she said with a nervous chuckle as she scratched the back of her head.

* * *

"And this is it folks, the last battle of the day, the culmination of every single battle we have seen today! And it is no question as to who we'll be seeing in this final battle. Hang tight folks! We're in for a great and unique treat!"

"Well you know what that means Latias. You're up!" Ash said with a bit of a smug grin. He felt that he deserved to be a bit proud, especially right now.

"About time too!" Latias responded, "I've been looking forward to this moment ever since that morning."

"Oh boy...he's going to get it," Riolu gloated, "I can imagine the look on his face now...OW!"

"Stay still Riolu!" Kirlia scolded as she attempted to apply some potion and bandages on Riolu, "You know it would be a lot easier and much less painful if you stayed still." The fighting-type grumbled to himself under his breath, but smiled, glad that Kirlia was taking care of him.

"If only he knew who 'Tia' was...I'm pretty sure he'd die from the shock," Pikachu added with a delightful chuckle. Latias giggled, wishing that she could reveal her true self so freely. "He's like a bug that just won't leave you alone because you're so sweet," Pikachu teased, drawing an invisible angry stare from Latias.

Upon the word 'bug', Ash got a strange tingle up the back of his spine. It felt strangely familiar...dangerously familiar. It coudn't be, not now.

"Oh no..." Ash said, his eyes growing wide. He really hoped he was wrong, but his inner gut told him that he wasn't. "Call off the match! We're all in danger!" he yelled at the referee, his eyes wide and scared.

"Excuse me young man?" the referee asked, "I don't quite understand what you're talking about son."

"We need to get everyone away from here now!" Ash answered, "There's not much time left." Confused murmurs and mutterings were rapidly spreading through the crowd. What was Ash going on about?

"He surrenders!" Jason said loudly and proudly, "I am the victor of this tournament and for Tia's love!" Ash face palmed, but suddenly threw his head up as a gut-wrenching screech pieced the air of the stadium. "Aria! I thought we fixed this! Why is this happening again!" Jason rushed up to his writhing Ariados, trying to discern what was wrong. Ash too rushed to the center of the battlefield where a certain Ariados was rolling about in pain.

Ash hoped that he had heard incorrectly. Again?

"Jason! What happened the last time this happened? When did it happen!" Ash yelled, grabbing hold of Jason and shaking him fiercely.

"It...was three..days ago...Aria began acting strange and attacking everyone and everything. We had to knock her out to restore her to her original self," Jason stammered meekly, a bit overwhelmed by the fierceness in Ash's voice. Ash let him go and stood up. Suddenly, Jason screamed and Ash turned around to see Aria perched over him, her fangs at his neck.

"Aria! stop!" Ash commanded as he tugged on one of the legs of Aria. Suddenly, that blue light that he had been seeing at the ranch appeared again and enveloped Ariados completely. Jason was out cold, unable to take the threat to his life. Aria blinked and stood still, wondering what she was doing before crawling off her master.

"Why didn't I sense it..." Ash asked himself seriously, thinking back to three days ago. "Of course! We were flying."

"Uhh...Ash! We have a bigger bug problems over here!" Latias said, revealing herself and pointing over the walls of the colosseum and towards the Tree of Beginning. The last parts of her sentence were drowned out by a constant, droning buzzing. Ash turned to come face to face with a large cloud almost the same color as his Black Latios form. Barely a speck of the afternoon sky could be seen through the violent swarm.

"Tell everyone to get out of here!" Ash yelled at the referee who instantly obeyed, feeling the danger in the air. He ran a message to the main commentator as quick as he could. Moments later, a different but easily recognizable voice rang over the speakers of stadium.

"Listen up! This is Officer Jenny. All citizens must evacuate immediately! Get to your homes and stay inside," she commanded, "Exit as quickly and as quietly as possible."

Of course, typically, the crowd of people got up and immediately ran for the exits, the screams and yells rising exponentially in volume as everyone began to panic. People pushed, tugged, climbed and rolled over anyone and anything in front of them to get out of the stadium and away from the ominous cloud.

Ash turned to Latias and jumped on her back, motioning for Pikachi, Riolu and Kirlia to climb on. They needed to find the others.

As soon as Ash's three other pokemon hopped on board, they took off, combing the stands for any signs of their friends.

"ASSHH! DOWN HERE!" Brock yelled from below, waving his arms back and forth madly to catch his friend's attention.

"Over there!" Pikachu said tugging at Ash's shirt and pointing in the direction of Brock's voice.

"I see them! Latias, to the right!" Ash commanded, and Latias swerved. She stopped right over them, hovering in the sky. Immediately, Ash released Charizard, Staraptor, and Gabite.

"Charizard! Staraptor! Fly two on your back each! We need to get them out of here. Gabite! Grab Max and jump out of here. Meet us in the forest nearby!" the black latios said. He wished he could have changed into his pokemon form, but there were too many people nearby. Ash's pokemon nodded, knowing that Ash and his friends needed them now.

Charizard and Staraptor motioned for the older kids to get on, hoisting them up in the air. Gabite took hold of Max and leaped high into the air, easily clearing the walls.

As they flew over the battleground walls, Ash could see a stream of screaming and panicking people flowing out in a chaotic motion, bumping and falling all over each other as they attempted to get to their homes.

He looked back and gasped; that black cloud was almost to the edge of the city already. Using his new powerful eyesight, he tried to determine what it was.

"Latias...am I seeing this right?" Ash asked, squinting even harder in an attempt to clear his vision.

"If you're seeing an enormous angry cloud of bug pokemon...then yeah..." Latias responded, a small amount of color draining from her face. Not even their combined power would be enough to combat the swarm of pokemon headed their way.

"What do we do?" Kirlia asked, really scared by the oncoming flying hoard.

"We need to regroup and find help! There has to be something we can still do!" Ash answered, "We can't give up!"

Landing on the soft grass of the nearby forest, he found it ironic that this was where they had entered, and would now be where they would leave.

What could they do to save the city? Then the answer hit him like a direct Flamethrower from Charizard.

"There's only one way..." Ash said looking up at the formation of rocks in front of him, "The tree.."

"You're not thinking about..." Pikachu said, his face twisting up into an extremely worried frown. "Don't you think about doing it Ash! I'll electrocute you till your nervous system shuts down for a week!"

"Do what?" Latias asked, extremely confused as to what Ash and Pikachu were arguing about.

"He's going to sacrifice himself to save the city," Pikachu said with a less than pleased scowl, "Do you always have to play the hero Ash?"

"I have to help them..." Ash answered, looking down, hiding his face behind his hat, "It's the right thing to do. I'm the only one that can help them." Pikachu knew he was right, but that didn't make him like the idea any more.

"An admirable thought, however, completely unnecessary," a sudden deep voice said from behind all of them, causing them all to turn.

"Mewtwo!" Pikachu exclaimed, "It's about time! Things are going crazy around here!" Mewtwo nodded in acknowledgment. He noticed a couple new members of the group, but had little time to do any introductions.

"I must spare you the pleasantries. Mew is already expecting you Ash at the core. We move immediately," the powerful psychic-type said, and before anyone could protest, he teleported all of them to the central crystal core of the Tree of Beginning. Looking around them, they saw a huge pink and blue force field holding back a literal blanket of hostile bug pokemon, all too eager to do every single one of the bodily harm. They were biting, bashing, stinging and slamming into the barrier, but it held fast.

"Mewtwo! You're back!" Mew said floating around worriedly, "It's not working...I don't have enough." Mewtwo nodded in understanding.

"Ash, you must help Mew. Only your aura is strong enough to save this tree and the rest of the kingdom from ultimate destruction," Mewtwo said gravely, causing Pikachu to protest rather loudly and violently.

"No way! I'm not going to just let him walk away to his death...again! And anyways, what does his aura have to do with saving everything," Pikachu yelled, sparking dangerously. There was no Lucario to save his best friend this time, and he refused to sit by idly and watch.

"He won't die...but he will be severely weakened. Normally, this excursion would cost him his life, but given his recent boost of power, he will survive," Mewtwo responded calmy, disregarding the threats that were just rolling off of Pikachu's body language at the moment. "As to why his aura is required...we will discuss that once we have successfully ended this threat."

"So you mean...since he's part pokemon now, he'll be okay?" Latias asked cautiously, and Mewtwo answered with a curt, but affirmative nod. She sighed with relief. The last thing Latias wanted was to lose Ash.

"Let's hurry and get this over with then," Ash said, "The longer we wait, the more people and pokemon get hurt, and I have to stop it now." Mewtwo nodded and stepped aside to allow Ash access to Mew.

Lifting his arms as he did before, he called upon his strange dormant power within him, willing the power to be infused into Mew. His friends watched with held breaths as a azure-green sphere of energy began forming around Mew, granting her power. Ash gritted his teeth as he felt his strength beginning to drain from him. He would not give in; he still had more to give. With a final grunt of exertion, he fainted, but had succeeded in infusing his aura with Mew. Latias rushed forward to catch the falling boy, making it just in time for Ash to land in her arms. Mew flew up into the flow of energy of the Tree of Beginning and communed with it, willing it to accept her gift.

Suddenly, all of the crystals of the tree lit up with the same color as Ash's aura, sending up beams of similar colored light, striking all of the crowding bug pokemon, all of them glowing blue before flying off back to where they had come from, all unsure of what they were doing only moments before. Mewtwo felt it safe to let the barrier drop, and was pleased to find that none of the previously swarming bug pokemon felt like bothering them.

Mew floated down from the central column of energy, cooing happily, so glad that it had worked.

"Yay! Everything is back to normal!" Mew cheered, doing a few cute flips in the air.

"Not quite Mew...you know as well as I that this effect is only temporary. If we do not find the orbs soon, not even Ash will have a strong enough aura to overcome the corruption."

"Right..." the origin pokemon answered sadly, pulled out of her state of brief happiness, "Everything depends on the orbs...and Ash." Mewtwo shook his head, looking over to where Latias held Ash in her arms, stroking his face tenderly as he slept.

"Everything depends on them..."

* * *

(1) I know someone's going to say it! There is currently a fire and bug type pokemon, but this story is before the 5th generation.

(2) I know it's not normal for a Riolu to use Aura Sphere, but when have things been normal for Ash? Besides, this is a central part in what is coming next. But you guys will have to wait for that.

Sorry for the massive delay! I really did want to get this out on the schedule that I had proposed, but things just didn't go my way for a while. -.-' Originally this chapter was a bit longer, but I decided to cut it a bit short for next time. Also, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter since I had to re-write it like three times, so the quality may be a bit lower than usual. Please try to understand. I might go back and re-edit it later, but for now it's going to stay this way. Sorry guys!

Back to the story!

Yeah, I know Jason didn't get his complete thrashing that some of you all were expecting from Latias. He'll be getting his later. I don't think Queen Ilene will be too pleased with her nephew given the information Misty uncovered. Hehe.

But now we know another two orbs have been taken and corrupted! Ash and his friends better hurry! The time for intense training and actually learning more about the orbs, their history and their part in this story is coming soon, as well as Mew and Mewtwo finally training Ash! I know many of you have been waiting ages for this next chapter to come!

Until then! Enjoy another piece of deviantart by the wonderful AquaShine!

aquashines . deviantart / art / The - Black - Latios - A - Little - Competition -

313831943

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

-Mekon


	23. Ch22: Augmented Awareness

**DISCLAIMER**

Like the chances of me shipping Jason with Latias (throw up at the thought). Thank Arceus that will never happen...

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

"_Let's hurry and get this over with then," Ash said, "The longer we wait, the more people and pokemon get hurt, and I have to stop it now." Mewtwo nodded and stepped aside to allow Ash access to Mew. _

_Lifting his arms as he did before, he called upon his strange dormant power within him, willing the power to be infused into Mew. His friends watched with held breaths as a azure-green sphere of energy began forming around Mew, granting her power. Ash gritted his teeth as he felt his strength beginning to drain from him. He would not give in; he still had more to give. With a final grunt of exertion, he fainted, but had succeeded in infusing his aura with Mew. Latias rushed forward to catch the falling boy, making it just in time for Ash to land in her arms. Mew flew up into the flow of energy of the Tree of Beginning and communed with it, willing it to accept her gift. _

_Suddenly, all of the crystals of the tree lit up with the same color as Ash's aura, sending up beams of similar colored light, striking all of the crowding bug pokemon, all of them glowing blue before flying off back to where they had come from, all unsure of what they were doing only moments before. Mewtwo felt it safe to let the barrier drop, and was pleased to find that none of the previously swarming bug pokemon felt like bothering them. _

_Mew floated down from the central column of energy, cooing happily, so glad that it had worked. _

"_Yay! Everything is back to normal!" Mew cheered, doing a few cute flips in the air._

"_Not quite Mew...you know as well as I that this effect is only temporary. If we do not find the orbs soon, not even Ash will have a strong enough aura to overcome the corruption."_

"_Right..." the origin pokemon answered sadly, pulled out of her state of brief happiness, "Everything depends on the orbs...and Ash." Mewtwo shook his head, looking over to where Latias held Ash in her arms, stroking his face tenderly as he slept._

"_Everything depends on them..."_

* * *

Ch22: Augmented Awareness

Soft rays of moonlight bounced off of the green, lush canopy overhead, reflecting and refracting the lunar light onto the large crystal formations on the Tree of Beginning, illuminating everything on the rocky structure that lay outside. Only the faint sounds of nocturnal, hooting Hoothoots and Noctowls filled the air, occasionally punctured by sharp scratching noises that were easily identified as the music of the working bug pokemon, ever working, even at this late hour.

It was during this nearly silent hour that Ash decided to awake, his body jerking forward in panic as he regained consciousness, his previous dream reminding him of the danger he had been in. Looking around rapidly, he found himself lying on a bed of soft leaves, positioned underneath the shade of a large, ancient tree, painstakingly woven together to provide for the most comfortable bed possible.

After adjusting to the new light levels, Ash could just make out the figures of his friends and pokemon sleeping nearby, their chests heaving up and down in peaceful slumber and their faces serene. Trying his best to minimize the sounds of the crunching leaves, he rose from his bed, deciding to go for a walk and knowing he would not be able to get back to sleep.

The sweet mountain air rushed through him as he reached the edge of the platform, and he looked out over the land, seeing the large cluster of lights belonging to Rota. He sighed with relief, glad that the town seemed to be safe and relatively back on its feet with little to no problems.

What if he had failed? What if he wasn't able to save the town and his friends?

Ash shuddered at the thought, not quite sure if his shivering was attributed to his mental questioning or the chilly mountain air itself that was whipping around him mercilessly. Taking a deep breath, he just closed his eyes, feeling at peace for the sparest of moments, glad that things had actually worked out.

He didn't have long to stay in that state, his mind beginning to ponder the bigger questions.

Who was doing this? Could they stop them? Was there even anything they could do? Why him?

He sighed, knowing he had no answers and would definitely not be getting them tonight. Ash sat down on the cool, mountain dirt, pulling his knees to his chest as he just continued to think about the crazy situation they were in and the events they had already gone through.

"Three orbs already..." Ash muttered, feeling as if he wasn't doing enough to help. He had been spending the last two days having fun while the world tipped on the edge of disaster. The least he had done was save the town, but that didn't detract from the fact that the cause was still very much there. He was so lost in thought that he almost didn't hear the soft footsteps and voice that floated along the soft midnight breeze.

"Ash?" asked a quiet voice, causing Ash to start and turn around.

"Oh, hey Latias," he said, turning back to face the boundless sky and valley below, "I didn't wake you did I?"

"Not really," she answered, taking a seat next to her trainer and friend on the cool grass, "I couldn't sleep...How are you feeling?" Ash shrugged.

"Alright I guess. A little sore, but nothing too bad I think," he responded, "I guess I'm getting used to blacking out now." He gave her a small smile, causing Latias to giggle cutely.

"I hardly think that would be a good thing," Latias jested, bumping Ash with her shoulder playfully. Ash chuckled, elbowing her back in the ribs. After a few more minutes of playful banter, Ash fell back, bracing himself with his arms.

"Probably isn't," he said nonchalantly, "But what can I do about that anyway?" Latias only offered him silence, letting the sharp clicks and buzzing of the forest wash over them in a sort of soothing natural hum.

"We're going to stop this you know," Latias said quietly as she looked out towards the serene midnight sky, the glowing stars and moon casting the illusion that the world was perfect and at peace. She place her hand on Ash's in reassurance. He remained wordless, silently observing the stars with his friend and feeling the warmth from her petite hand.

"Thanks Latias," Ash murmured, giving her an appreciative smile.

"For what?"

"Just being there," he said with a shrug while he looked at the full moon overhead. The red eon dragon could only smile softly, her heart fluttering at his simple words.

"Always," Latias added with a little yawn, leaning her head on Ash's shoulder, finally feeling the welcome tug of sleep call her and surrendered. A tranquil smile spread across Latias' face as the music of the whispering, mountain breeze and pokemon lulled her to sleep.

Chuckling low as to not disturb the sleeping dragon, Ash brushed away a stray strand of auburn hair, observing the girl and just thinking about her. He marveled how lucky he was to have such a wonderful friend that cared so much for him. Without realizing it, Ash found himself instinctively moving forward.

"Sweet dreams Tia," Ash breathed, planting a kiss on Latias' forehead, and unknown to the Black Latios, the girl's smile stretched upwards even further; she knew she would.

* * *

Somewhere in the back of his subconsciousness, Ash could hear a high-pitched giggling and faint, hushed voices whispering his his name and Latias'. Comprehension was far from him now, and he merely let them float away as if they were figments of a dream.

The 'dream' began to increase steadily in volume, causing his brow to furrow as he began to break out of his subconscious, as the irritating noise began to annoy him. Popping his eyes open, Ash found himself face to face with a laughing Pikachu, Riolu and Kirlia.

"Gooooood Morning Ash," Kirlia said poking his face playfully, "I imagine that you had a good sleep?" The three pokemon began to laugh some more at the joke, all at the expense of their trainer.

"Hmm?" Ash asked, blinking the sleep out of his sandy eyes, wondering what was so funny.

"Maybe it would have been better if we found you guys a den or something, or a nice big tree," the electric mouse pokemon continued, not skipping a beat, much to the continued befuddlement of Ash.

"What are you guys talking about?" the Black Latios asked as he stood up to stretch and relieve himself of the last dregs of sleep.

"Oh nothing," Riolu added with a grin, "It's just that you looked so happy sleeping there with Latias in your arms is all." Ash blushed, hiding his face with his hat, mumbling something unintelligible under his breath that had something to do with "pesky pokemon". They all grinned, acting as if they were the most innocent set of pokemon in the world.

"Maybe, I'll find two places," Pikachu added mischievously, "One for Ash and one for you, Riolu." Before the emanation pokemon could even ask what Pikachu was talking about, the electric-type bumped him into Kirlia, causing him to knock her over and land on top of her. A raging blush spread across both of their faces at the same time, and they scrambled to their feet as Pikachu keeled over, laughing so hard that he began to roll on the grass in an attempt to assuage the hurt in his stomach.

Riolu and Kirlia finally managed to untangle themselves, looking away from each other as they stood up again. The fighting-type scowled at the electric mouse, trying his best to look angry. It wasn't really working.

Ash just shook his head and moved to wake Latias up, who had miraculously slept through all of the commotion. After a bit of prodding, Latias was up on her feet, wondering why Pikachu was rolling around on the ground, chortling like a maniac and why Riolu and Kirlia seemed to be unable to look at each other.

"Normal morning?" Latias yawned.

"Sort of," answered her trainer, wanting to not go into details.

"We should be getting back now," Riolu reminded them, "One, everyone was sent out to search for you two this morning since you weren't there when we woke up, so they are probably worried. Two, they have breakfast." Immediately, Ash's stomach growled in agreement, causing them all to laugh, and they headed back to the main camp sight where their friends would be waiting.

Some things never change.

* * *

As they approached the campsite which was parked right in front of the main entrance to the crystal core, Ash could already smell Brock's cooking wafting through the trees, making his mouth water in anticipation. It had been so long since they had had a good traditional outdoor cookout.

Ash jogged the last few yards to the campsite, but quickly skidded to a stop as he ran into four very annoyed friends.

"AND JUST WHERE WERE YOU?" they all yelled in unison, causing Ash to almost visibly shrink.

"Uh...uh..."

"Idiot!" Misty yelled, bonking him on the head with her mallet, "Yesterday a huge bug swarm threatens to kill all of us, and you almost die. Then we all wake up to find that you're not there!" The four friends converged on Ash, bringing him into a tight group hug.

"Sorry," Ash squeaked as he was released from their vice grip, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, "I kind of went on a midnight walk. I didn't mean to worry you guys."

Then, Latias, Pikachu, Riolu and Kirlia climbed their way into the camp, the latter three announcing that they had found the two on the edge of the platform, being able to only communicate by pointing because Ash was definitely not going to translate for them.

"Ash, come help me with breakfast," Brock suddenly said, pulling him aside and away from the four girls where they would not be heard.

Max waved as Brock came up with Ash, dragging him by his arm to the cooking site like a hunter dragging back his prey. The youngest trainer was simply flipping over pancakes with the help of his Ralts, making sure they didn't burn.

"Brock, you know I can't cook!" Ash exclaimed, as the older trainer finally let him go.

"I know that by now, but that's not what I brought you here for," Brock said as he put some eggs on, sprinkling them with a bit of salt and pepper. "I brought you here to talk."

"Huh?" Ash asked, extremely confused, "Talk about what?"

"Soooo. Did you do it?!" Brock suddenly asked as he rounded about, his voice and demeanor resembling a gossiping schoolgirl. He had moved unusually close to Ash, clamoring for details.

"Do what?" asked the Black Latios. He was so very confused and uncomfortable. Brock nearly face-palmed. He should have known Ash would be this dense. Brock would have to spell it out for him probably.

"Kiss Latias? Tell her that you love her and can't stand the thought of being without her?," the older trainer said, trying to keep his voice even, but the hearts in his eyes was quite telling. The effect was instantaneous.

"WHAT!?" Ash screamed, his mind coming up with rather vivid images at the mere mentioning of such an act. A fire erupted on his face as it entirely went blood red, not leaving a single pale spot on his face. He waved his arms around frantically as if doing something physical would dissipate the mental _plague_ he now had.

"Moonlit walk on a clear cloudless night as the stars shine overhead," Brock sighed out, fantasizing himself in Ash's place and Latias with another random girl, "It's just so romantic!" Max rolled his eyes, deciding to just focus on cooking. This was getting way weird for him.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!?" Ash screeched, trying to dispel his full-on-face-blush to no avail, "WHAT EVEN MADE YOU THINK THAT HAPPENED?!" Brock sighed in frustration. It was always the clueless ones that got lucky. Why couldn't he ever get someone?

"Oh, c'mon Ash! It's not that hard to see is it?" the older trainer asked with a raised eyebrow.

"SEE WHAT?!"

Max shook his head, wondering how Ash could be so dense. Even he could see the signs, and he had only been reunited with them for less than half a week.

"Nothing. It's not important," Brock answered evasively. It was important that Ash figure this out on his own, no matter how much Brock wanted to help. He hoped that it wouldn't come to a point where he had to step in and spell everything out for the oblivious boy.

"Well it's important to me! What makes you think that me and Latias are...you know...uh...kissing or whatever," Ash asked, looking away from the two other boys, his face flushing with more red. It didn't help that his mind had a rather active, vivid imagination. His mind began to paint pictures of him embracing Latias, her full, lush lips pressed firmly...

Ash rattled his head vigorously to dispel the embarrassing, though not entirely unpleasant, images.

"He's just teasing ya Ash," Max lied plainly as he flipped one of the eggs, trying his best to not give anything away. Sometimes, Ash was just _too _dense.

"Yeah...okay...whatever," Ash answered slowly, a bit weirded out by extremely uncomfortable topic at hand. "So what do you think about the orbs?" he added, changing the subject rather abruptly, but his friends took it in stride.

Brock hummed in response, "We have to put that at our top priority list. We don't know who, where, or why about any of this, and it's becoming more dangerous with each passing day." Ash silently agreed, thinking about the last series of attacks on their small band of misfits.

"Mewtwo said he was going to brief us all on the situation at hand at breakfast, so we better head over," Max said, piling the last of the eggs onto the plate. "Ralts, can you bring these over?" Max's little psychic-type nodded, jumping off of his trainer's shoulder to begin his task.

"How do you feel about all of this, Ash?" Brock asked, out of the corner of his mouth while helping Max pick up the grill, making sure it was properly stored and cleaned.

"I don't know really," Ash said as he sat down on one of the grass-covered rocks, "I mean...who would even do something like this?" The trainer furrowed his brows in disgust as he thought about the last few incidents, all the innocent people that were possibly injured and the good pokemon corrupted.

"We don't know Ash..." the older trainer said, putting a comforting hand on his friend, "But we won't stop until we do and put an end to this."

* * *

'I do hope that all of you have had a pleasant breakfast, but we must now begin,' Mewtwo said, stepping forward into the arrangement of humans and pokemon. The rag-tag team of kids and supernatural creatures nodded in acknowledgment.

"But where do we start anyway?" May asked quietly, feeling that so many things were unknown that finding a secure starting place, physically and topically, was going to be difficult.

'We understand your confusion and hesitation. This situation is one that has never occurred in the long history of Earth,' he said, recognizing the doubt and fear that still lingered over the group, no matter how confident they acted or how willing they were to help. 'I feel it is imperative to start with our plan to end this.'

"Sounds solid enough," Pikachu commented, perking his ears up as he prepared to listen.

Mewtwo quieted, trying to correctly word what he had to say next. 'However...to begin with our plan, we must first begin with Ash.'

"Huh?" Ash suddenly said, looking around as if there was another "Ash" in the group, "Me?"

"Yeah," Mew agreed, all "fun and games" lost from her voice, "We need to explain how your transformation plays a vital and perhaps most important role in the grand scheme of saving this world. Along with this situation, your transformation is unique."

Ash shifted uncomfortably, feeling a bit scrutinized. "I didn't really mean for it to happen...it just did."

'We know Ash, but that is the point. This wasn't a choice. It was not a decision. You turning into a pokemon-human hybrid is not even close to commonplace," the genetic pokemon said solemnly, "Now do not misconstrue that as bad. If anything, it is a blessing." Ash silently agreed.

The boy continued, "I still don't see why starting with the details of my transformation is going to help save the world though. Shouldn't the most important thing be locating the last uncorrupted orbs and keeping them safe while searching for who is corrupting the orbs and stop them?"

"That is part of the plan," Mew said, "but for that to even begin, we need to talk to you about...well _you_."

'As I began saying,' Mewtwo continued, not losing a beat, 'Your own situation is unique, tied by destiny to this calamity. As pokemon have been for centuries, we are beings of unknown and mysterious power. However, no one has considered humans to be beings of power either, yet it is clear they are and are filled with nearly limitless potential.'

"Well that doesn't make any sense," rebutted Ash, "Humans are just humans. Pokemon have all the power, agility, resilience, strength, intelligence, and just raw power.

'And yet pokemon are subject to the laws of humans and even willingly obey...in a mutualistic sense of course. This world is a human-dominated world. Furthermore, there have been some, not many who are able to call upon powers much like those of pokemon.'

"Psychics. Ghost Whisperers. Aura Wielders. Karate Masters," Mew listed off, as she counted on her small fingers, finding that she didn't have nearly enough to count them all. She pouted slightly and instead began counting with her toes, much to the chagrin of Mewtwo.

'This synthesis present inside of you, Ash, is something terrifyingly powerful. As a human, you already exhibited some extremely potent powers,' the genetic type continued, ignoring his predecessor's antics.

"Like my Aura?"

'One of many powers.'

"What else would I have? When I was only human, I couldn't spew fire out of my mouth, create force fields or fly. I was just a normal human.." Mewtwo smiled.

'No normal human can withstand a direct, full-power, psychic blast from two legendary-strength pokemon.'

"Withstand? I turned to stone..." Ash protested, remembering what the powerful psychic type was referring to.

'Not quite stone. It was a state of dormancy, a protective cocoon that your mind and soul had thrown up to protect its house. All that you required to be "okay" was the tears of your friends and sympathetic pokemon. How can that be typical for human beings?' Mewtwo pressed on, causing Ash to feel even more self-conscious.

'Furthermore, you have been touched by the legendaries themselves, some gods, some not, but all extremely powerful. These connections strengthen you.'

"Contact into that kind of power would change anyone," Mew added, finishing up with her counting, "Mentally, emotionally, physically. In your case it is all three appropriately!"

"I still don't see how this relates to me being the 'main plan'," Ash grumbled, finding their speech fascinating but rather long-winded. He didn't like trying to figure all this stuff out, and they had been in the dark long enough.

'This builds up to that,' Mewtwo cutoff, giving a reassuring nod to Ash. 'Now is the important part. These orbs, as you all know, are made up of aura, an ancient power that Arceus instilled in the first pokemon and legendaries themselves. Through the ages, the Art of The Aura was lost to the changing times as pokemon came to rely less on their empathetical powers and more on their physical prowess. Now only one family of pokemon actively engages in aura manipulation and practice.'

'Lucarios and Riolus,' Latias answered, slowly filling in the gaps.

"Right!" squeaked the smaller psychic legendary, "That doesn't mean that only their species has it though! Plenty of legendaries have access to aura, even some rare humans like Ash. I bet that any pokemon today could be taught how to use their aura, but it would be really hard. Most pokemon that can stick to convention like using Aura Sphere, a rather simple amalgamation of aura thrust forth towards a target. What we mean by the Art of the Aura is much more complicated than that."

"Well, what's the difference between them? And if there's some kind of special ability associated with this, like mind reading or something, how does it make it any different from psychic powers?" Max asked inquisitively, his mind buzzing with endless questions. Mewtwo smiled, glad that the younger trainer had asked.

'Aura and Psychic powers, while very similar in some aspects, are two completely different worlds. Psychic powers rely on the mind alone and can be strengthened and tuned with practice and deep meditation. With these powers, one is able to use many abilities, read minds, telepathy, memory projection, et cetera...'

"Aura comes from the soul. When a pokemon or in this case, a human uses their aura they draw upon their own strength as a person or being. Your aura is quite literally yourself at the deepest level, which is why emotions are tied so strongly to it. And what makes it unique is that every being has one, some similar, some really different."

"Can you strengthen your Aura?" Ash asked, analyzing the fact that using aura was entirely different from using his psychic powers.

'Of course. As a person, you grow, you learn, you experience. With each of these passing moments, your aura grows stronger, nurtured by the things you have done and overcome, the people and pokemon you have met, and how you feel. Strengthening is not what we aim to help you do Ash. We aim to help you control your Aura, direct it, and utilize it in the best way possible. You do not require further strengthening as it is immensely strong already...and this leads us back to why you are the beginning...I'm sure that you have noticed the chaos and evil that has been rampant as of late.'

"Yeah...we just got out of one fight." Mewtwo nodded, knowing that.

'Haven't you noticed that all of these pokemon, tied by their elemental dependence on the aura orbs are different? They succumb with little resistance, turned into monsters at the slightest drop of a leaf,' he continued, 'While your pokemon and your friends remain unaffected and healthy. In fact, many trainers' pokemon remain safe and uncorrupted.'

"Why is that?" May asked worriedly, thinking about her faithful Beautifly becoming an evil monster bent on destroying everything and everyone.

"It's because even though the main source of their elemental aura is being corrupted, they still have their trainers and friends to rely on. Like Mewmew said earlier, aura is dependent on who you are."

"So they can resist the corruption?" Brock ventured, feeling a bit less worried about letting Crobat and a couple other friends out.

'Precisely. However, Arceus, with all of his power, lacks this ability because these orbs ARE parts of him. A pokemon and their trainer, as I have come to learn, depend on each other, growing stronger together as they learn to appreciate and love. This bond, strengthens the underlying aura that we all exhibit acting as a natural shield against corruption. While many pokemon in the wild love one another as well, it does not foster enough protection to stave off the evil.'

"BUT! Ash here," Mew said pointing at the trainer, " has such a powerful and pure aura that he has the ability to purge the evil from a pokemon, and hopefully the orbs. By being around him, his pokemon and you all have gained a significant amount of protection as well."

"The blue lights!" Pikachu exclaims, getting it now, the picture finally coming together.

'Indeed, that is the indication of the purification process.'

"So..." Ash started, his mind trying to wrap around all of this craziness, "I have to learn how to control my aura to purify the corrupted aura orbs and keep the ones that aren't tainted, pure."

'That is the plan, but do not forget we will also be training your body and pokemon abilities, as well as those of your friends. We must all be prepared if we are to face this challenge set before us...'

"And besides, we aren't going to be doing much teaching with Aura," Mew added, "We're here to teach you how to better control your psychic powers and strength and encourage you.."

"Who will be teaching me then?"

Mewtwo grinned, stepping aside to motion towards two figures.

"I believe you have already met before."

* * *

Ash couldn't believe it. He had to be hallucinating right now. It was just simply impossible. Ash had seen him die right before his eyes.

"It's been a long time Ash," Lucario, the one that had saved the tree like his master before him, said with a small smile as he stood proudly next to his mentor and friend, his body a ghostly apparition of blue and white.

"It is nice to finally meet you Ash," Aaron said with a curt nod, marveling at the fact that this boy looked almost exactly like him as a younger child.

"How..." Ash simply said, his jaw slack and agape. Lucario smiled and laughed.

"Aura is a strange thing...When Sir Aaron and I sacrificed ourselves to save the tree and kingdom, a part of us, our Aura, was locked into the living rocks. These gems you see are our new home." Ash didn't look like he understood.

"This tree houses us now. We did not die, per se, but we definitely aren't still 'living'. At first, we were confined within the gem-created worlds, and we didn't mind really. It accommodated us, however, it was lonely. But after a while, we learned how to pierce the wall between us and the real outside world," Aaron said, "And thank Arceus we did! The world out here is much more exciting than in there. There are so many new things to see and learn!" Aaron laughed airily, "Mew has been telling me of all the amazing new inventions that humans have created over the years, ships as big as a mountain and flying hunks of metal in the sky that can house hundreds of pokemon and humans at once and something she calls 'instant noodles'."

"Lucario and Sir Aaron just randomly popped up one day while I was talking with the main crystal core," Mew added with a little flip, "It surprised me too."

"Well yea...I bet," Brock said, his mind boggled by what he was seeing. However, he wasn't stuck in that state for that long; they had seen plenty weirder on their travels. He just had to add "resurrecting ghostly apparitions" to the list.

"So you guys can teach me?" Ash asked as he looked on towards Lucario and Sir Aaron, who nodded in return.

"We will teach you all that we know so that you will be prepared to fight this invasive evil," Aaron said confidently, able to literally see the potential in this boy.

"Um...can I learn too?" Riolu asked quietly, finding the chance to be taught how to masterful manipulate his aura too powerful to resist. He didn't want to impose though.

"Of course young one," Aaron answered with a friendly smile, "I taught Lucario when he was a just a Riolu too. I'd be more than happy to help."

'We will begin training you tomorrow, today, you must rest,' Mewtwo said, 'You have been through much in the last few days.'

Ash opened his mouth to protest; every minute another orb was coming closer to danger. Mewtwo gave him a stern look, however, and Ash knew Mewtwo wouldn't take "no" for an answer. The genetic pokemon curtly nodded before dismissing them all and flew off to prepare.

"We will retire as well," Aaron said, "While we do not suffer from psychical strain, this form does indeed strain our aura. We will come tomorrow." With those simple words, Lucario and Sir Aaron disappeared in a puff of blue, wispy smoke, retreating back into their crystal home.

"Go do something then!" Mew barked playfully, giggling, "This is the last day you'll have some leisure time, so get to it!" She floated off, leaving them to do as they pleased.

"Mew and Mewtwo are right," Brock said as he stood up, "We've been doing things non-stop for the last week or so, flying here, contests, battles, giant, bug swarm attack...We need to reset and recuperate. And what better way is there to do that than hiking around this mountain!" Out of nowhere, Brock whipped out a large camping backpack, already stuffed to the brim with various tools and equipment.

"Alright then," Misty said with a laugh, really curious about this strange "tree" and the wonders it held. Dawn voiced the same sentiment, thinking about all of the amazing nature surrounding them already. Perhaps she could draw some inspiration from this setting to use in her next contest.

Max and May looked at each other and shrugged. "Eh..why not."

"You coming Ash?" Brock asked over his shoulder as he began walking.

The Black Latios sighed. "Nah...I think I'm just going to go for a walk alone. I need to think."

"Now that's hardly ever a productive venture," Pikachu said with a grin, hopping onto his trainers hat, "When you think too much, I start to worry." Ash swatted Pikachu off lightly, deciding to ignore the jab.

"How about you come meet our parents Ash?" Kirlia suggested, hoping it would keep Ash's mind off of things.

"Yeah. That's a good idea actually," Riolu joined in, "They would want to know who you are."

"Well..."

"You know you want to Ash," Pikachu said, smirking.

"I think it would be fun really," Latias commented, wondering what Kirlia and Riolu's parents would be like. "I bet their parents are really worried though Ash. You should really meet them."

Ash couldn't win against four; he relented. He felt a bit strange about it, however. Ash had never really thought about the parents of any of the pokemon he had ever captured. Some of his pokemon were quite young when he had caught them, and the feelings of the parent pokemon had never crossed his mind.

"Alright alright. We'll go see Kirlia and Riolu's parents," he ceded, turning to Brock, "I guess I'm visiting now." The older trainer laughed, nodding and walking off to explore the mountain with his other friends.

"Let's go!" Kirlia gushed as she pulled Riolu along, leaving Ash, Latais and Pikachu to follow the trail of dust left behind, excited to finally be coming home.

* * *

Ambling idly through the forest, Ash marveled at the fact that he never noticed all of the exotic pokemon and wildlife inhabiting the mountain. Pokemon that were supposed to be extinct fossils lived comfortably amongst the foliage and nourishing pools of the mountain which shielded them from the external world. All around him, pokemon were busy, working, playing, training, and relaxing.

Some pokemon shied away as they walked past, not used to seeing actual humans move freely on their grounds. Luckily for Ash, he was able to understand their trepidation and assured them of his good nature.

"And here is where we went swimming if it got to hot," Kirlia said pointing out to a good-sized lake nestled into a cliff side waterfall, adorned with lush plants and resting pokemon. They were spared a passing glance before Kirlia moved on. She continued naming various places and pokemon familiar to her and Riolu until they reached an cave entrance, just large enough for Ash to squeeze through.

"Well this is my place," Kirlia said with a happy little clap, "Riolu's is over there." She pointed across the brush to another alcove hidden amongst the greenery. Ash could just make out a small indent in rocks that designated the home.

"How do you want to do this?" Ash asked, feeling completely out of his depth here. He wasn't quite sure how the parents would react.

"We should just bring them out here so you can meet them both at once," Riolu said smartly.

"But I wanted it to be a surprise!" pouted the emotion pokemon. Pikachu smiled, jumping off of Ash's shoulder as he rushed into the hole before any of them could say anything. Mere seconds later, Pikachu dashed out, putting on a Quick Attack for a burst of speed as he dove into the other cave, exiting in a similar fashion before placing himself back on Ash.

"What did you do?" asked Ash, fearing what Pikachu had just wrought upon them.

"Oh you'll see. She said she wanted a surprise," The electric mouse pokemon snickered as he waited for the fun to begin. The Black Latios' face turned incredulous as he tried to figure out what in Arceus' name he had done.

"OH DEAR ARCEUS IN HEAVEN!" a sudden, extremely excited voice shrilled as a running Gardevoir burst out of the cave, followed closely behind be an exasperated Gallade who was trying to catch up with his mate in vain.

From the other home, a low voice filtered through the brush. "Where is that son of mine," a female lucario muttered, "We have some _things_ to talk about..."

"Oh I'm sure he's just having some...fun," Blaziken waved off shaking his head, "Never thought he'd have the guts though."

Ironically, he was just about to lose his guts. "HELP!" Riolu cried out as he tried to run as far away as possible from Kirla's ecstatic mother who was intent on hugging him to death. Kirlia giggled at the scene finding it hilariously cute.

Riolu was scared, scared that he would be trapped in Mrs. Gardevoir's grasp forever. He didn't even know what he had done! He prayed that if there was an mercy left in the world for him, someone would come save him.

Suddenly, he found himself in the warm and strong arms of his father, chuckling fondly as he rubbed his head.

"Hey there squirt," Blaziken greeted with a short chuckle.

"Come on Blaziken! Let me hug my new son-in-law!" Gardevoir begged, raising an alarm for Ash, Latias, Kirlia and Riolu.

"SON-IN-LAW!?" Kirlia and Riolu squeaked, their faces turning blood red, easily connecting the dots. Riolu's pupils became the size of pinpricks as he rumbled with the thought.

"You didn't..." Latias said plainly, just imagining what was coming next.

"Oh, I did!" Pikachu said with a high laugh, freely smashing his small yellow fists on Ash's shoulder in hilarity.

"Mom! We're not..." Kirlia began to protest, knowing that if her face became any hotter she would be able to fry eggs and bacon on it.

"Oh Kirlia!" Gardevoir cut off, scooping her precious daughter into a fierce hug, "I told you it would only take time honey."

"MOM!" the emotion pokemon squeaked even louder, knowing that there was no way she would ever be able to top this embarrassing moment. "It's not what..."

"Oh you'll have to tell me how it happened! Was it romantic? Was it how you dreamed it would be?" Kirlia wished that a godly bolt of lightning would just take her now or the floor could open up and swallow her whole. The fact that Riolu was here made everything a million times worse, not that the emanation pokemon was doing any better though.

"Nice choice son," Blaziken said, ruffling his kid proudly, "Kirlia's perfect really. I know you two will be great together."

"But Dad it's not..." Riolu protested, finding the situation was becoming more and more out of hand.

"Of course it's not going to be easy. You have to work at it to make it," his father continued, nearly as oblivious as Kirlia's mother.

"You and I have some very _important_ things to talk about," Riolu's mother said sternly, but a light twinkle in her eyes said differently.

Riolu mentally growled, vowing to get revenge on Pikachu if it was the last thing he did. He could hear him rolling around in sheer glee, howling and cackling like mad.

"Now I know this is very early, but I wonder what the eggs will look like," Gardevoir said absentmindedly, cracking the last of Kirlia and Riolu's sanity.

"WE'RE NOT MATES!" they both screamed at the same time, waving their arms around madly as to emphasize the point while their faces contorted into tormented grimaces. Unfortunately, this did not have the intended effect they had wished.

"Woah there! I had no idea that you were talking about that already! Take it slow son!" Blaziken said worriedly and meaningfully, "After all you're just started courting, don't rush into things so much. Enjoy it." Riolu's entire body twitched with fury and humiliation. "You alright son? That is one nasty twitch you got there."

"PI. KA. CHU!" Riolu screeched at the top of his lungs, scattering away all of the roosting birds into the sky.

"Oh!" Pikachu said with a wide grin and somewhat nervous eyes, "Do you hear Misty calling me? I think I do! Bye!" With that he sprang to his feet and sprinted after his other friends, his laughter being carried along the winds as he fell out of sight.

Riolu and Kirlia were steaming, glaring daggers at the spot the small electric mouse pokemon had just occupied, drawing the attention of the four adult pokemon, who, in their excitement, had obliviously ignored the two "humans" watching them. Oh, they were going to have their revenge one way or another.

Unfortunately for the new "couple", they were pushed aside as their parents took up a defensive stance, wary to any strangers, especially as of late.

"Who are you!" Lucario's mother snarled, her protective maternal instincts kicking in as she prepared to spring at any moment.

"Woah! It's okay. We're not here to hurt you," Ash answered quickly putting his hands up in surrender, "Kirlia and Riolu lead us here to meet you." Her ears perked up in surprise, not expecting this human to understand her so fluently.

"Riolu do you know them?" Blaziken asked seriously, ready at any moment to attack like his mate. It wasn't that he disliked humans, but they did have a tendency to attack wild pokemon with the intent to capture them, especially strong ones. His son nodded.

"He's my trainer...and Kirlia's," Riolu murmured.

"T...tr..trainer?!" Lucario's mother sputtered her breath hitching in her throat. The thought that her own son had been taken away from her, beaten into submission and captured in an infernal, human-technological orb caused her heart to ache and rage at the same time.

She rushed towards Ash, intent on scaring him off, only to meet a solid wall of psychic energy. Latias had reacted instinctively, raising a powerful Protect bubble around them, her eyes antsy and tense. She was not going to sit by and watch Ash possibly get hurt.

"Mom! It's not like that!" Riolu cried out as he stepped out from behind his father, "He saved me and Kirlia! We chose to go with him." His mother froze and after many tense seconds and stepped back, her expression completely torn. She was happy, mad, sad, excited and completely confused.

"He saved Riolu from almost dying..." Kirlia muttered quietly, her thoughts and memories still extremely vivid as she saw herself crying by her best friend's bedside, begging for him to wake up and tell her he was okay. She shook herself, not wanting to dwell on such depressing thoughts.

"dy...dying?" the frightened mother rasped out, trying to swallow the thought down. Ash nodded towards Latias, signaling for the shield to go down, knowing that they would be safe.

"So the orb..." Gallade started, not even wanting to try to think about the amount of danger he had put his own daughter in.

"It's safe. Ash has it," she guaranteed, gesturing towards her cautiously approaching trainer.

"That's not what I mean..." the blade pokemon said sickly, wondering why he had never thought of the consequences of sending his daughter and her best friend off to protect one of the most powerful and important pieces of the world.

"Huh?"

"I...Nothing Kirlia," her father reassured, putting on a brave face, "I'm just glad you're both okay." Kirlia looked at her father strangely, knowing that was definitely not was on his mind, but she let it go. This meeting was definitely not going to plan.

She sighed. "I really think we should start from the beginning Riolu," Kirlia said seriously who earned a vigorous nod in turn.

They walked out of their parents' protective embraces, happily taking their place at Ash's side and began to tell their story, vowing to wreck a one-hundred fold revenge on a certain snickering electric mouse who, no doubt, didn't have a care in the world at the moment.

* * *

"And last but NOT LEAST! We are NOT courting or mated or ANYTHING of the sort!" Kirlia and Riolu finished together their faces colored in an intensity that almost resembled Blaziken's main coat color, "It was all Pikachu's joke." Relative silence reigned for a good minute or so, the sounds of the small pokemons' exhausted panting filling the void. Their parents looked at them strangely.

"But you want to be though right?" Blaziken suddenly asked with a sly grin. Immediately, both small pokemon fell over, giving up. "Kidding. Kidding."

Latias laughed, gathering up the tired critters, feeling a bit sorry for them, but amusement mainly took place of that.

"So...you're Ash huh?" the fire-type questioned, turning his attention to more serious matters at hand. Blaziken sized him up, getting the feeling that this boy seemed to be a worthy trainer.

"Yeah," the human boy said, scratching his head out of habitual nervousness.

"Well then thank you for saving my kid and his friend."

"I would have done the same for any pokemon really. It's not a big deal." Ash chuckled, feeling like he was under a microscope, and the four adult pokemon were peering through it, watching his every move.

"But it is," the female Lucario muttered, "There are not many humans who are so selfless." Gardevoir and Gallade agreed, happy that some nice human had come by to help their child.

"I wouldn't call him exactly...human anymore though," Latias answered with a small grin, finding that her two charges were already fast asleep, exhausted mentally. "He's rather special you see. Saved me too one time." Ash pinked, feeling his heart flutter a bit at the compliment, his thoughts returned to his rather strange conversation this morning with a not-so-subtle Brock.

"We've noticed..." Gallade answered solemnly, "There's a certain aura of power you both give off that tells us so. Not to mention that you can understand us as if it was a second language to you." Ash smiled meekly.

"It's interesting really," the female Lucario said, putting a paw to her chin thoughtfully, "I'm curious as to why and how though." Latias nodded, encouraging her trainer. They would have to one time or another, but Ash was a bit apprehensive. How would pokemon react to a literal "pokemon" trainer? (1)

He trusted Latias though and grabbed that dormant power lying within, letting it wash over him. Latias laid down the two napping pokemon on the soft grass and did the same.

After a brief transformation, the crowd remained silent, which didn't seem like a good sign at all for Ash, but then, they all broke out into a smile as the two legendary pokemon floated before them.

"What a surprise," Gardevoir said with a wide grin, "Who would have thought that our children would be helping Arceus' Champion save the world."

* * *

(1) Oh the punnery of it all! :D

Well that's it for this chapter! Lot's of stuff going on now. The ball of romance is now almost fully rolling. Some of you will be quite happy with this chapter I believe because you have been asking for ages for this to actually start. (20+ chapters to be exact!) And shenanigans on all parts with Pikachu!

Training with Mew and Mewtwo is coming and our guest appearance by divine right, Lucario and Sir Aaron, shows up to add to Ash's training regiment! Things are getting way out of hand here. By the time we're done with this, Ash is going to be ridiculously trained.

Well this is the last summer update. Sorry there weren't as many updates as there possibly could have! I really need to figure out a schedule for working this in.

And as usual thanks so much to my great beta: Tanon!

Thank you for reading and please review!

-Mekon

*Edit* 500 Reviews? *Dies...*


	24. Ch23: A Legend's Power

**DISCLAIMER**

Missing No. - 404 Error in Ownership Database

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

"_hello" = _aura

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

**A/N **

**Currently, this chapter has not been beta-read. My beta is very locked up with his college schedule at the moment so please forgive any obvious mistakes. Pointing them out for correction is always welcome of course. **

* * *

Last Time:

"_I would have done the same for any pokemon really. It's not a big deal." Ash chuckled, feeling like he was under a microscope, and the four adult pokemon were peering through it, watching his every move._

"_But it is," the female Lucario muttered, "There are not many humans who are so selfless." Gardevoir and Gallade agreed, happy that some nice human had come by to help their child._

"_I wouldn't call him exactly...human anymore though," Latias answered with a small grin, finding that her two charges were already fast asleep, exhausted mentally. "He's rather special you see. Saved me too one time." Ash pinked, feeling his heart flutter a bit at the compliment, his thoughts returned to his rather strange conversation this morning with a not-so-subtle Brock._

"_We've noticed..." Gallade answered solemnly, "There's a certain aura of power you both give off that tells us so. Not to mention that you can understand us as if it was a second language to you." Ash smiled meekly. _

"_It's interesting really," the female Lucario said, putting a paw to her chin thoughtfully, "I'm curious as to why and how though." Latias nodded, encouraging her trainer. They would have to one time or another, but Ash was a bit apprehensive. How would pokemon react to a literal "pokemon" trainer? (1)_

_He trusted Latias though and grabbed that dormant power lying within, letting it wash over him. Latias laid down the two napping pokemon on the soft grass and did the same._

_After a brief transformation, the crowd remained silent, which didn't seem like a good sign at all for Ash, but then, they all broke out into a smile as the two legendary pokemon floated before them._

"_What a surprise," Gardevoir said with a wide grin, "Who would have thought that our children __would be helping Arceus' Champion save to world."_

* * *

Ch 23: A Legend's Power

Hero. Chosen. Champion. Those were just some of the titles appropriated to characters of legend, their stories passed down, retold, and re-imagined, becoming more fantastic with each re-telling. They were larger than life, wielding the powers of the heavens, commanding armies of justice, pushing forward to protect those they loved, and stopping evil in its path while facing unimaginable odds.

Ash found himself unable to really see himself as part of the pantheon of legends whose names were still remembered hundreds of years later, spoken in tones of awe and wonder. He had never set out to save the world, only to become a pokemon master. Yet, here he was, labeled as the greatest of all.

"Arceus' Champion?" Ash asked to no one in particular, the powerful phrase foreign upon his tongue as he tried to wrap his mind around the idea of being appointed as the one to save everything and everyone.

"Yes," Gallade answered, understanding that the title bestowed a lot of responsibility onto the young man, "Arceus himself predicted it in the Onyx Prophecy thousands of years ago."

"Onyx Prophecy? What is that?" Ash and Latias both asked, curious.

"The Onyx Prophecy is the first words of Arceus spoken directly to men. Once they had learned to hate and destroy, he knew the world would be in danger in the future. He spoke directly to the world, his words creating the pokemon humans now call the Unknown," Gardevoir explained, "These Unknown create the Onyx Prophecy that foretells of the appearance of The Black Dragon, destined to help balance the world. Few passages have been cataloged by humans over the ages, split into various prophecies and interpreted differently; for example, the Shamouti Prophecy is one of the most famous that branches off from the Onyx."

"Can you tell us what the entire prophecy says?" Latias asked hopefully, knowing that anything that could help them was sorely needed. Gardevoir nodded, saying the legend was passed down from guardian to guardian, and she began to recite with a powerful, crisp voice.

_The onset of creation, men and monsters alike will rise,_

_building worlds, together, of shining metal and hardened stone._

_Unaware these children are of the darkened demise_

_that is born from their ranks, evil and alone._

_Unopposed the shadow grips at the world root,_

_mad in power; thine enemies rendered moot._

_The seed of man, engendered from the tubes of life,_

_shall rise in a ring of destruction's fire, destined to roam and fly._

_The mirror of living flips and cracks, creating much strife._

_The chosen, on a trip to sea, shall be blocked by the sky,_

_and from these events of life, the gear box begins._

_Learn these sayings, for the world, to make amends._

_Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice or lightning, _

_lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash. _

_Though the waters's great guardian shall arise to quell the fighting, _

_alone its song will fail, and thus the earth shall turn to ash. _

_O Chosen One, into thine hands bring together all three. _

_Their powers combined tame the Beast of the Sea._

_Fear the unknown words spelled out in plain,_

_their sentences lifted off the realm of reason and crystallized._

_Champion, the sharpened spears of kin shall strike to pain,_

_and illusive beasts of fire and flames, no longer ill-disguised,_

_shall aide you in your hour. But the path is stroked,_

_and the portal closes. Evils are provoked._

_Mess not with the ancient gears of time,_

_unless thou wish to destroy the vast, endless forest that it is._

_Darkness' footsteps shall transcend a vast lifetime,_

_from mentor to student and beyond this._

_Purity takes its form in the dripping water,_

_while greened time seems all the dimmer._

_Yet, in the darkened chain of purling whirlpools,_

_a lightened heart will fly true. From that crimson, purehearted mare,_

_a sound of sweetness resounds with the worldly jewels._

_From blue to black, the synthesis begins there,_

_where sparks of ardor shine on the shore._

_However, darkness still strikes her at the core._

_The celestial mechanisms roll once again_

_as the good wishes of eying youth slip through the seeing glass._

_Stars of a half fortnight resist the tainted touch of men_

_as the magician plots on the rugged overpass._

_Terror manifests itself in giants of old,_

_twisted by hearts of men, increasingly cold._

_The heavenly skies will quake in abject despair_

_as brothers with quarrels, petty and inane like greedy imps, exchange_

_blow after savage blow, fiercesome fire in arctic air._

_The Champion will mend the pieces he can arrange,_

_but the crack has begun, too deep and too wide,_

_the wound pulsating, bothered by burgeoning pride._

_The bastion tree of the story's great setting,_

_nearly fell once by the rampant rage of warriors and fooled monsters,_

_will house the guardian while legends of old keep living._

_Awaken, the course of power will, revealing some answers,_

_as the last companion rejoins with his master._

_Hasten thyself Champion, faster and faster._

_The specters of heightened greed sail oceans far,_

_as the egged prince of changing hearts is saved by nobler souls._

_A mother and child is not determined by flesh and scar,_

_but by volumes of infinite love, paid in tears and tolls._

_Immense lands will rise and vast oceans will fall._

_Discord shall reign in my hallowed hall._

_Beware the real fears of the deepest dark,_

_for the animosity of the misunderstood is largely misplaced,_

_and instead trepidation should be a given mark_

_of dueling gods and titans of olden time and space._

_Few tunes of harmony can barely resonate,_

_but the impending shadow it cannot escape._

_Alas, the realms of alien gods, uncovered,_

_are finally turned on and desecrated despite their earth-loving nature._

_Through the darkly mirrored views, reversed,_

_the penultimate step is done on path to the rapture._

_As you rescue her again in the armor of knight,_

_know that the greatest of all you have yet to fight._

_The day of judgment shall come to pass,_

_and pass it shall as the highest heavens above rain hellish flames._

_Time you shall need to save me; turn the cracked hourglass._

_Life is a rare jewel appropriated to those who have claims._

_Yet, even as a gift, life is taken by these demons._

_Face this corruption for the last orb beckons._

_My Onyx Dragon of unparalleled might,_

_your closest companions will see this worldly calamity through,_

_but only with you by her side from which passion shall ignite._

_Those last lights, pure and unadulterated, will spark you,_

_through your powers combined it may come to be,_

_another day of light we may rise to see._

* * *

_In A Dark Corner of the Earth_

"Sir! Operations are well underway. The next should be secured within four to five days at best. We are meeting more opposition as we go, but it is nothing substantial."

"Excellent. Dismissed." The messenger nodded, saluting his superior and left the dimly lit room, his boss, and the creepy persian that always napped there.

Giovanni simply sat in his plushly padded throne, imagining all of the chaos and suffering that he was about to inflict upon the world which was still unaware of the impending darkness. He petted his purring persian fondly, the one thing he cherished in this twisted world.

On his desk lay the report that the grunt had dropped off. It had been sent by that forgettable doctor, or scientist, or crazy man, detailing the next phase of the master plan. Opening the folder, Giovanni's wicked smile only widened further as his beady eyes saw the diagrams and designs placed inside the manilla folder, scattered with various reports on laboratory experiments, some successful, some not. He reminded himself not to kill the working scientist or threaten his life the next time he visited his lab in the near future.

The evil man closed the file, finding everything was going to plan, exactly as he wanted, and still, no one was on to him. On his cold, metal desk, a intricate model, crafted at his request, held sixteen orbs, each a different, vivid color. These orbs orbited a model of the earth, and he smirked as three darkened, crystal orbs orbited in the model. He eyed a fourth knowing that it would turn in a few days time, and all the while, his forces and power grew, minute by fateful minute.

* * *

_Training Day One_

In the shadows of a shrouded grove, Ash and Latias floated before their mentors, poised to begin their first lessons of advanced pokemon training. All around them, rugged rocks of various sizes littered the good-sized clearing. The leaves of the trees overhead absorbed nearly all of the sunlight, casting a dim, but comfortable light on the area where they would be starting Ash's first lesson.

"Psychic powers are dangerous. Always remember that Ash. They can undo you, your friends, your loved ones, if control is not maintained," Mewtwo begin in a grave voice as Ash and Latias floated in front of him. Having used her psychic powers for nearly all of her life, Latias knew the risks already and rolled her eyes, feeling that Mewtwo was over-dramatizing it a bit. However, Ash was listening hard, and he gulped nervously as he nodded in acknowledgment. "Remember. The mind is the origin of all of your psychic powers which is a very powerful tool if used correctly. By strengthening your mind, we can strengthen your powers respectively."

"Make no mistake. Strength of mind does not depend on intelligence or knowledge. Strength of mind is measured by creativity, flexibility, will, and being able to think outside of the box, though knowledge does help," Mew added as she hovered in place beside her counterpart.

"Okay. So how do we strengthen my mind then?" Ash asked, not really having a single clue as to how one bolsters your mind without something as mundane and lengthy as "school", something he had been without for all of his life.

"First," Mewtwo cut off, "We must assess the extent of your current control over your psychic powers. We shall test your ability and judge how much training you require." Ash nodded, trying to contain his nervousness and his excitement.

Mew floated over to a pile of rocks which ranged in size from miniature to colossal, and announced, "Your first test: Arrange all of these rocks from big to small with only your psychic powers. Good luck!"

Ash blinked blankly as his eyes drifted over to a boulder that was the size and probably the weight of a Tyranitar. He was supposed to life that?! He didn't even have the faintest idea as to how he commanded his psychic powers.

Nonetheless, he had to try his best, and he floated over to the first pikachu-sized rock. The Black Latios stared blankly at the inanimate piece of Earth, pondering how to get it levitating with his powers. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the rock became outlined in a bright blue-green light and hovered off of the ground slightly. Ash didn't quite know what to make of it, but he took it as a good sign, thinking about moving it to the side. To his great satisfaction, rock began to move "on its own", floating out of the way and landing on the soft grass where Mew had chosen the formation to be created. The first rock touched down, and Ash grinned; this wasn't so bad.

He returned to the pile of rocks, levitating the next object into the place, his task becoming slowly easier over time. The Black Latios was having little difficulty with his current task, and he was even able to move a rock that was as large as him out of the way. Then he got to the Tyranitar.

Ash gulped as he sized the thing up with his eyes, feeling as if the object weighed a couple tons. Up until now, he had felt little strain on his mind as he moved the boulders, but now, as he commanded the giant to lift up and move, an intense pressure filled his mind, making him feel as if his head was slowly being squashed under a heard of rampant Tauros. Immediately and instinctively, he cut off the command, and the outline of power that had formed around the rock disappeared, causing the boulder, which had been levitating a few inches off of the ground, to crash down in a cloud of dust.

The Black Latios sighed as he was defeated the first time, but he tried again, failing again and again.

"I think that may be it," he conceded shamefully as he panted from mental exhaustion. He hated not being able to complete a challenge, but he knew his limits.

"No. Again," Mewtwo commanded, his voice having no room for argument. Ash could do nothing, but try again, and he willed his mind to lift the gigantic weight, despite knowing it would be nearly impossible. "Learn this Ash. If you think it, it will be. Use this to manipulate your knowledge and your own psychic powers along with the environment around you," the powerful psychic type advised.

"Whatever that is supposed to mean..." Ash muttered under his breath as he glared daggers at the rock in front of him that taunted him with its monstrous size. "If only it was lighter..."

"Well if you thought it was lighter..." Mew hinted, her voice dripping with obviousness. She really wanted Ash to get this first basic step.

"If I think it's lighter? How is that supposed to work? It's a gigantic rock!" Ash protested, the logic of it all making absolutely no sense to him.

"Creativity. Flexibility. Ingenuity. Everything we know is perception. Change that perception. Who said the rock was even solid? What if it was actually a painted balloon? Perhaps it's filled with air? What it were simply... not big at all?" Mewtwo commented, his voice a bit smug, acting as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

Ash doubted the solution was that simple, but he would give it a try either way.

He imagined the rock as filled with air and them commanded it to move, but to his continued frustration, it didn't move an inch.

"You have to believe it Ash," Latias offered, "Thinking is always the first step, but believing is the trick to truly accomplishing it. You have to learn to outsmart your own mind." Ash sighed, finding it increasingly difficult to do away with all the laws of physics and the earth itself, having lived with them all of his life. He had to think and believe that this piece of rock was really no heavier than a feather. "Remember. Everything is perception." The Black Latios nodded, reinventing his entire reasoning. The bounder in front of him was nothing but a discolored cloud that he wanted to move over to the right. It was lighter than the smallest grain of rice, and he was a giant that found it as insignificant as the countless bacteria that lay underneath his feet.

Amazingly, the rock immediately picked itself up and scooted into place slowly, dropping into position with a satisfying thud. Ash could only gape at what had just happened, ignoring the small pang of strain he felt. The Black Eon floated backwards to view his handiwork.

It was done. All of the rocks were lined up perfectly by size, biggest to smallest, like nesting dolls ready to be swallowed up by the larger one next to them.

"I...I did it!" Ash exclaimed happily, excitement and eagerness refilling his voice. "I moved them all into place, even the huge one!"

"Excellent," Mewtwo commended with a satisfied, little grin, "Now, the other way around, all at once. Then you will balance them on top of each other, big to small and then small to big." Ash groaned. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Tired?" Latias asked with a tiny smirk as she watched Ash just lay on the grass in mental and physical exhaustion. He didn't even want to answer and simply moaned in response as he basked in the mid-day sun. The red dragon laughed as she flopped down over to her resting trainer, patting him on the back. "You did really good today though. I'm surprised that you were able to master object manipulation so quickly. I was impressed."

"Thanks..." Ash croaked as he held his head with his hands, having transformed back into his human form to conserve energy immediately after the training session had ended.

Latias set herself down on the grass, placing herself next to her trainer, and they simply watched the clouds roll by for a few fleeting minutes.

"You better rest up. You have aura training this afternoon, and I don't think Riolu would be too pleased if you decided to skip out on him." Ash chuckled, the word "aura" sparking his interest and restoring some of his lost energy.

"I bet he wouldn't," he responded with a little laugh, "Though, I'd hate to miss it too really. I'm excited to start. Though if it's anything like psychic training, I'll have to pass." Latias giggled.

"You know you'll love it anyway, just like how you love learning how to control your pokemon powers." Ash rolled his eyes, but he knew it was true anyway.

"Am I that obvious?" Ash teased, nudging Latias playfully with his elbow.

"Yup!" she responded promptly with a grin, bumping her friend back in an equally teasing manner.

"Oh Ha Ha Ha," Ash sang out as a comfortable silence fell over them as they watched the white clouds in the sky race past. He sighed, "It's hard to believe that so much has happened already. I thought I was a normal kid five years ago. Now, I'm a prophesied savior of the world learning to control these supernatural powers..."

"Do you feel like it's too much sometimes?" Latias asked, concerned, knowing that Ash had been dwelling on the issue a lot lately. Ash sighed again.

"It's not like I hate it, but sometimes there is always that burden that lingers. Like now, it's telling me I have to do this, and I do want to do this, but it's hard. It's just hard knowing what will happen if I fail." Ash sniffled a bit, trying to reign in his emotions as he sat up to wipe his eyes.

Latias frowned, reaching forward and grasping her trainer's hand. "You won't fail. I won't let you. We won't let you. Together, with all of our friends, we'll get through this. There's nothing we can't accomplish if we stick together." Ash's smile returned slightly, and he thanked her.

"Thanks Latias..." Ash said with an appreciative smile as he hugged her, "I needed to hear that again."

"Anytime."

* * *

"Ready for this Riolu?" Ash asked as he looked down at his pokemon, giving him an encouraging smile. Riolu walked alongside his trainer as they traveled together towards the main chamber of the Tree of Beginning where Sir Aaron and Lucario had told them to go.

"Yeah...I just hope I don't mess anything up," Riolu answered back, "Mom gave me a few pointers, but I just don't want to look dumb." Ash chuckled, petting Riolu reassuringly.

"You'll be fine. Besides, we're being taught by masters. They'll get us there one way or another, even if we look dumb." Riolu laughed in earnest, knowing that looking dumb was usually a byproduct of learning something new.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the mouth of the cave that lead them to the central power relay of the tree. Two ethereal, ghostly figures waited there at the entrance, welcoming the two pupils.

"Ready to begin?" Lucario asked as the four walked up to the energy link that powered the tree's existence. Ash and Riolu watched on for a few moments, marveling at the unique monument as energy flowed from branch to root and back again, all by the power of aura.

"Come," Aaron commanded as he walked straight into the beam, disappearing before he began to fall. Lucario followed suit, beckoning the two students to follow them into the power exchange, and he disappeared as well.

Riolu and Ash exchanged looks of worry and doubt, but they nodded and continued forward together. Ash tried not to think about the endless hole they were about to step into, but it was like trying to pretend a Snorlax wasn't sitting on you when it was.

Ash closed his eyes as he took the first step over the chasm, but the terrifying grip of gravity did not overcome him and the whipping of the wind did not roar in his ears.

Instead, he opened his eyes to find a whole new world, unblemished and pure. It seemed to rejoice as Riolu and Ash stepped through.

"Welcome to our world," a now solid and non-monochromatic Sir Aaron said with a small bow, and Lucario smirked, folding his arms coolly.

"Chocolate?" the aura pokemon offered, holding up two delicious bars of candy that he materialized out of thin air. Ash and Riolu, incredulous, accepted, having no words. There were always things that continued to surprise them.

"What is this place?" Ash asked as he spun in a couple circles, taking in this hidden world that seemed to shift and change at the slightest whim. One moment a lush forest would be facing him, and then he would turn back to find it was now a vast lake.

"A world based on a projection of our feelings and memories, housed within the crystals of the Tree of Beginning themselves," Aaron answered, "and thus, it bends to our will and aura." Abruptly, a pillar of white stone shot out from underneath the ancient Aura Guardian, sending him high into the air. Ash shouted out in worry as he watched him jump off, but his fears were unfounded; Aaron gracefully floated downward like a wayward leaf on the chilled autumn wind, gracefully and softly.

"Anything is possible here as long as you can feel it," Lucario explained to both of them, "which makes it a perfect place to train both of your auras."

"So," Aaron said as he landed, his cape ruffling out like a large parachute, "First, I want to know how much you know about your own auras."

"Well...we can both use Aura Sphere now," Ash answered promptly, "And we can speak with our auras."

"That is good," the Knight of Rota said, "However, those are the most basic of all aura manipulation powers. As Mewtwo told you, you have the capacity to become a master of aura. I can even sense your raw power emanating from you, a power so much more than my own and Lucario's combined."

"What else is there to Aura?" Riolu questioned suddenly, "What can we apply our auras to?"

Aaron smiled as he opened his hand. Suddenly, a bright burst of light flashed as a dark blue flame appeared in his hands. Slowly they shifted and shaped a figure in his hand: a long sword. On his other hand, a heavy shield began to shape itself from the mass of blue aura fire.

"Aura manipulation can be fine tuned to nearly whatever the user desires, a key, a weapon or a tool. It is a literal expression of our deepest selves and the power within." Aaron closed his eyes as he summoned a tree, aged by the hand of time and as wide as a sleeping Snorlax and as tall as the heavens. The guardian swung his arm swiftly and cleanly, the sound of metal slicing through wood ringing in the air. The tree began to creak, and slowly, it fell away from its severed base, smashing into the ground in a tremendous bang. Aaron nodded to Lucario to proceed.

All of a sudden, a large slab of the purest and strongest diamonds appeared in front of Ash, walling him and Riolu off from Lucario and Aaron.

"_Attempt to break through the wall," _Aaron said as he and Lucario stepped back, _"Give it everything you've got."_

Ash nodded to Riolu, and simultaneously attacked with their strongest moves, Giga Impact and Earthquake. The attack connected in a powerful explosion, its ripples of power crawling over the grass, but the barrier of jewels remained unharmed through the smoke and flying dust.

"_An admirable effort,"_ Lucario commented, _"However, this trial does not deal with strength. It deals with precision." _

Lucario's ears began to fly up as he used his powerful aura to scan the wall of crystals. Abruptly, he surged forward, smashing his left leg into the wall at a precise spot. Instantly, the blue crystals shattered and disappeared, much to the amazement of Ash and Riolu.

"Precision and insight are also great advantages to a user of aura. Remember, aura is literally the outreaching of ourselves interacting with the aura of the world. By understanding this, the secrets and configurations of the world open up, giving you many options to assess and take." Aaron finished as returned to his previous spot, answering Riolu's question in full.

"Lastly," Lucario added, "Your aura is the most important part of yourself. It is what gives you existence a meaning. Hence, my aura is my own existence. Sir Aaron's aura is his own existence. However, since your ultimate mission is purification, you must tread carefully. You told us that you have been purifying pokemon without a second thought; we were impressed greatly. It means your soul is strong, Ash." The mentioned trainer blushed a bit, but he was pleased nonetheless. "But you must be cautious when you exercise this power. Purifying someone or something puts your own purity at risk, because when you use that power, you are literally at war with the corruption that will surely attempt to destroy your good soul."

"Through these lessons, we will teach you to protect your aura and protect others with it. I warn you though. These exercises will test everything that you think you know about yourself to the limits. You may find that you will not like the dark corners of yourself that come out in hardship. Are you both prepared to walk that path?"

"Yes," the two pupils answered promptly.

"Then...we begin!" Sir Aaron said as he and Lucario suddenly disappeared, their bodies dematerializing into thin air. Ash and Riolu began to look around rapidly, a bit alarmed by the sudden change of pace. A deep rumbling ran up from the ground, shaking the land so hard that the horizon line became a scribble. Suddenly, enormous dark walls of metal rose out of the gourd in boxes, zigzags, rows and columns, coming together to form a strange, unknown pattern, indecipherable to Ash and Riolu.

"What..." Ash stammered, feeling a bit miniscule as the towering walls, as high as skyscrapers, continued to climb around them, blocking out nearly all of the light from the beautiful sun as a shroud of shadow, black as the longest night came over them.

"Your first Task!" the voice of Aaron boomed from no where in particular, "Find the way out. Be wary, the path is never clear. Use your aura to find a way out." Then nothing but the sounds of Ash's shoes and Riolu's paws shuffling against the cool grass could be heard for miles.

"So it's a maze," Riolu surmised as he held his hand up in front of his eyes. He could barely make out the outline of his small paw, finding that having black paws was not quite advantageous to their current situation.

"Yeah..and by the looks of these walls, it's huge," Ash added, having the same difficulty with his own appendages even with the high contrast. "I suppose the first step is to walk," Ash chuckled as he nodded down to his friend in the darkness. Together, they stepped forward into the void.

* * *

"How long have we been at this!?" Ash complained, nearly tripping again on a rope tied across the walls of the black maze.

"I don't know. I've can't even see the sun, much less what's in front of me!" Riolu bit back, feeling the bite of frustration slowly gnawing on his nerves. They had been at this for hours, trying every which-way they could find, yet nothing that seemed like an exit came. Plus, they had no idea how to use their auras to find the way out.

"Ugh..I swear it's almost dinner time already! We need to get out of here!" the hungry trainer whined as he ran needlessly into a wall.

"Can you please stop talking about food! It's like the only thing you think about," Riolu yelled, nearly reaching his limits, "We're in the middle of a giant maze with no end in sight, and all you can think about is what you can put into your stomach!"

"Well why don't you find the exit then?" Ash quipped, folding his arms stubbornly, " Since you're obviously the expert."

"Maybe I will! And then when I do, I'll make sure to tell Brock that you said to give me your food!"

"Well you won't get the chance! I'll get out of this maze myself before you do!"

With that, Riolu and Ash ran in opposite directions, each determined to beat the other to the finish, their frustrations and lack of success driving them apart and along different paths in the maze.

* * *

Every corridor seemed smaller now, as if closing in on the maze-goers, like a garbage compress. The eerie silence suddenly became moans of desperation, as the walls themselves cried out in misery at every accidental bump and brush. Every corner turned seemed like a deeper passageway into a never-ending blackness.

The air became thick and cold, like a deathly fog attempting to swallow all in its misty stomach, biting at the skin and eyes and salivating over their bodies as it prepared for a meal. The darkness seemed closer now, much closer, like a blanket of impenetrable black, blinding the way and creating chaos.

With each footstep, another from behind would echo out as if a stranger was following, and the rough breathing of each maze goer turned into the echoes of a beast against the blackened walls: a predator hunting its prey.

For a good half-hour, both parties had shrugged this change off, stubbornly continuing forward, attempting to ignore the sudden change in atmosphere. However, this confidence did not last long.

Panic began to settle in as both parties began to run in any direction possible to escape the frightening sounds and feelings encompassing them. It was becoming too much.

They both yelled out eachother's names in desperation, hoping the presence of the other would stave off the feelings of abject terror running through their iced veins, but no voice returned, and even the name that fell off of their lips seemed to be swallowed up by the heavy darkness of the maze.

"Okay. Calm down Ash. Calm down," the panicking Black Latios said to himself as he continued walking, "Got to find Riolu." Ash called out again to his emanation pokemon, feeling horrible for snapping at his friend.

Meanwhile, Riolu wasn't faring much better. The child ran amok in the labyrinth, freaking out at every little snap and every little creak, shouting out his trainer's name. Yet, no human came to his rescue.

"I have to find him," they both said as they continued running in the darkened halls. They couldn't see each other. They couldn't hear each other. Nothing of their five senses would show them where the other was. "But...my aura can!" the both exclaimed as they stopped running and simply stood still as they searched for the other's presence in the winding maze.

They looked through the solid walls of the onyx maze, their souls searching for the other. In their hearts, they could see the paths they had taken and the point of breaking. Then they finally connected.

"_Riolu!" _Ash exclaimed through his aura, feeling a sense of relief wash over him as his mind perceived a friendly voice.

"_Ash!"_ Riolu responded with similar enthusiasm, finding that hearing another voice was comforting, like a warm candle casting its light in the middle of a dark hallway.

A pause reigned between the two souls, but the message was the same.

"_I'm..I'm sorry," _they both said at the same time, feeling extremely guilty over their actions and words.

"_No it's my fault. I was complaining too much. I should have stayed positive and helped you find a way out of the maze instead of whining,"_ Ash conceded sorrowfully, _"I was being a burden when I really should have been helping."_

"_It's my fault too. I was being stubborn, and I was frustrated like you were. But instead of trying to vent it out like you were, I took it out on you..." _Riolu apologized, twiddling his paws as he communicated his guilt.

"_It's okay. I forgive you."_

"_Same. I forgive you too. Now let's meet up and work together to get out of this crazy place!" _

"_You bet!"_

From that point onward, the maze seemed to be a hallway of light. There was no darkness, and there was no confusion or fear. Both of them could find each other, and they did.

"Riolu!" Ash cried out as he heard the pitter-patter of paws against grass.

"Ash!" Riolu shouted as he ran up to hug his friend, glad that they had found each other again.

Suddenly, a true light shined from one of the hallways; it was the way out. Riolu and Ash grinned.

"Let's go!"

* * *

"We made it!" Riolu and Ash cheered as they high-fived each other, congratulating themselves on their eventual success. Sir Aaron and Lucario were waiting for them at the exit, both of them smiling.

"I congratulate you on your success. It took me and Lucario much longer to complete that challenge at your stage back then. But I believe it was because we weren't such good friends yet," Aaron confessed, shaking the young boy's hand, "Now tell me. What have you gained from this."

"No matter what the circumstances, it is always better to stick together with your friends and rely on them," Ash answered, petting Riolu fondly.

"Even if you fight, your friends will still be there to help you when you need it," Riolu added with a grin.

"Correct. You have successfully passed the first test: the Test of Reliance. An aura user depends on the strength of his interactions with the world, not himself. It is this constant flow that gives the aura user his or her power. Fostering strong connections is an essential part of learning to control your aura, and keeping those connections is the trick," Sir Aaron said with a happy grin, "Well, I do believe that that concludes today's lesson. Well done indeed." Lucario smiled in approval.

"Until next time Ash," Lucario said, and with that, the world faded away as Ash and Riolu found themselves standing in front of the core as if they had never left.

"Wow..." Ash murmured, knowing that what they had gone through was important. He grinned down to his emanation pokemon and smiled. Riolu returned the happy grin, feeling a bit closer to Ash than before. They began walking out of the cave, wanting to return to their friends and tell them the things they had accomplished.

"It looks like it's still mid-day..." Ash said as he walked out to an outcropping, shading his eyes with his hand as he looked up. Indeed, the brilliant ball of fire floated proudly in the sky, still poised in the center of its arc. It looked as if it were merely minutes since they had left, yet they had disappeared for hours within Lucario and Sir Aaron's world. "Strange. I guess time moves slower here."

"Good. We need all the time we can get if we're going to stop this evil from destroying the world," Riolu answered as he and his trainer descended the mountain towards their friends and camp. Abruptly, Ash stopped.

"Argh!" Ash screamed suddenly.

"What? What!" Riolu exclaimed, suddenly worried as if they were being attacked.

"That's why Mewtwo scheduled afternoon sessions!" Ash yelled in despair as he clutched his face. He could almost already feel the physical and metal torment that the two psychic legendaries were going to inflict on him in the name of training. Riolu face-palmed.

* * *

_Far off in another part of the Tree of Beginning_

Misty, Dawn and May walked alone down the forest path with their pokemon, split off from Brock and Max who had gone off on their own to explore.

"I wonder what Ash and Latias are doing," May said suddenly, breaking the companionable silence that have been previously present. She didn't notice a small frown appear suddenly on Misty's face that came and went like a slight summer breeze on the hottest day of the year.

"I'm sure they are doing fine..." Misty answered, her voice a bit harsher and quicker than usual. May's eyebrows raised a bit, surprised by the curt response. The water-pokemon trainer felt bad for snapping, but she couldn't help it. The last few weeks had been rather unsuccessful for her in terms of winning the attentions of a certain trainer who had been so occupied as of late.

Dawn smiled sympathetically, knowing what bothered the fiery red head. She put an understanding hand on her shoulder, offering her silent sympathies.

"Latias and Ash have sure been busy lately. They've been doing things together non-stop," May continued, a bit oblivious to the ticking time bomb whose fuse took the form of a head of red hair. Dawn internally face-palmed a bit, finding May's words unfortunately stated. Misty's eye began to twitch as she held her arms a bit harder to stem the anger and jealousy she felt. May finally noticed that her current topic of conversation seemed to be eliciting an unfavorable reaction from her friend, and she quickly changed the topic.

"So what do you think is going to happen next?"

* * *

"Ahh, yes. Doctor...N," Giovanni greeted as he stepped through the automatic sliding doors of the secret facility, lightly shaking the shorter man's hand; he was really more interested in the mechanical contraptions that were currently lying on the workbench.

"Namba...but close enough," the crazy scientist conceded, "I do hope you'll enjoy this little demonstration. It's taken a lot of work, but I believe I've discovered how to do it." He gestured to the heavy machinery that seemed to be a very crude but advanced prototype.

Giovanni grinned madly. "How have the tests been?"

"The fluctuations in power have been rather problematic, but once I discover a viable stabilizing agent and mechanism, that problem should be eliminated. However, I've also had some problems with implementing the multiple aspects into a confined and mobile space efficiently."

"While I may regret this, I trust that you will find the answer. Surely you wouldn't want to disappoint me?"

"Of course not," Namba answered with little to no concern for the current voice his boss was using.

"Excellent. Now I wish to see a real-time test," Giovanni commanded as he picked up the machine.

"Of course. This way," the mad scientist said as he lead his leader to the testing chamber. The glass doors sealed behind them as the heavy metal alloy blast doors closed in on them. The large circular room was nearly entirely white, and from the center a restrained, young eevee trembled in fear as it faced the two evil humans.

"May I?" Giovanni joked. Namba nodded in the affirmative.

With a low chuckle, Giovanni aimed and fired, the blast of energy flashing violently against the white walls of the chamber as it connected with its target. Suddenly, a dark snarling filled the air as a rabid eevee began violently thrashing against its chains, firing attacks of nondiscriminatory nature at anything that moved.

From behind a powerful force-field that had been erected the moment the energy had connected, Giovanni and Namba watched on with a twisted interest.

"Excellent Dr. Namba! Most excellent indeed." Giovanni said with a dark grin as he finished observing the new eevee, whose eyes were as soulless as the mad villain himself. Having satisfied his goal, he pressed the kill switch, and the eevee moved no more.

* * *

(1) For any of you big poetry people: Sorry there isn't any meter on the prophecy. Maybe I'll do an actual metered poem-thing later.

**A/N **

**I do sincerely appreciate all of your guy's patience. I've been ridiculously busy as of late. Preparing for college stuff is so stressful and time consuming which is why this chapter is a bit smaller than usual. I ask you all to be patient with me for a few more months. Thank you all so much!**

**Edit (10/29/2012)***

**Some more wonderful comics for everyone by the wonderful AquaShine! Links are also on my profile page. Remove all the "()"**

**(http)(:/)(/aquashines).(deviantart.)com(/)(#/d5j4r3f) - The Black Latios - Shenanigans Pt. 1  
**

**(http)(:/)(/aquashines).(deviantart.)com(/)(#/d5j4rvt) - The Black Latios - Shenanigans Pt. 2**

Now as for the story! Training finally starts, which I had planned on for ages ago! Things are getting heated though; Ash has got to hurry because it looks like Giovanni is on the move with some crazy evil contraption.

Thank you all again for reading! Please continue to review! And as usual thanks to my beta, Tanon, who is currently very busy right now!

-Mekon


	25. Ch24: Catalysts and Resolutions

**DISCLAIMER**

Pokemon Ownership definitely has not been identified in my pokedex.

_Summary:_ After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

"_hello" = _aura

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

**A/N**

**Currently, this chapter has not been beta-read. My beta is very locked up with his college schedule at the moment so please forgive any obvious mistakes. Pointing them out for correction is always welcome of course.**

* * *

Last Time:

_"__Ahh, yes. Doctor...N," Giovanni greeted as he stepped through the automatic sliding doors of the secret facility, lightly shaking the shorter man's hand; he was really more interested in the mechanical contraptions that were currently lying on the workbench._

_"__Namba...but close enough," the crazy scientist conceded, "I do hope you'll enjoy this little demonstration. It's taken a lot of work, but I believe I've discovered how to do it." He gestured to the heavy machinery that seemed to be a very crude but advanced prototype._

_Giovanni grinned madly. "How have the tests been?"_

_"__The fluctuations in power have been rather problematic, but once I discover a viable stabilizing agent and mechanism, that problem should be eliminated. However, I've also had some problems with implementing the multiple aspects into a confined and mobile space efficiently."_

_"__While I may regret this, I trust that you will find the answer. Surely you wouldn't want to disappoint me?"_

_"__Of course not," Namba answered with little to no concern for the current voice his boss was using._

_"__Excellent. Now I wish to see a real-time test," Giovanni commanded as he picked up the machine._

_"__Of course. This way," the mad scientist said as he lead his leader to the testing chamber. The glass doors sealed behind them as the heavy metal alloy blast doors closed in on them. The large circular room was nearly entirely white, and from the center a restrained, young eevee trembled in fear as it faced the two evil humans._

_"__May I?" Giovanni joked. Namba nodded in the affirmative._

_With a low chuckle, Giovanni aimed and fired, the blast of energy flashing violently against the white walls of the chamber as it connected with its target. Suddenly, a dark snarling filled the air as a rabid eevee began violently thrashing against its chains, firing attacks of nondiscriminatory nature at anything that moved._

_From behind a powerful force-field that had been erected the moment the energy had connected, Giovanni and Namba watched on with a twisted interest._

_"__Excellent Dr. Namba! Most excellent indeed." Giovanni said with a dark grin as he finished observing the new eevee, whose eyes were as soulless as the mad villain himself. Having satisfied his goal, he pressed the kill switch, and the eevee moved no more._

* * *

Ch24: Catalysts and Resolutions

_Four Days Later_

"Again, but faster."

Ash grimaced as his forehead furrowed in intense concentration, anticipating when the fabricated constructs of aura would appear. A thick, black blindfold adorned his head, leaving him physically blind, yet he was still able to see, having developed his aura extensively over many training sessions in the nearly timeless world of Lucario and Sir Aaron. Before, in the first few sessions, Ash would have been tugging away at the obstruction, insisting that there was no way for him to do anything with the object that denied him the physical sense of seeing, but now, it was almost comfortable, having logged many hours behind that mask.

Quiet reigned while Ash continued waiting, his muscles tense and prepared to spring at any moment. So far, no disturbances made themselves known in the aura field as endless serenity reverberated through the otherworldly pond that surrounded them all. Riolu had yet to move as well which was apparent by Ash's new-found senses and, now, relatively mundane hearing.

Then he felt it, the sudden ripples of disruption that surged through the field, the images of multiple rhyhorns appearing briefly in his mind to his immediate right, left and back. He spun, letting his attacks fly, hoping his aim was true. Just a moment afterward, he heard Riolu fire his own attacks at his respective constructs resulting in six consecutive explosions. Ash smiled as he stood up straight, taking off the dark accessory, finding six craters gracing the ground and six imaginary rhyhorns knocked out.

Riolu peeled off his mask, looking around in satisfaction, giving his trainer a high-five for their success.

"Well done," Aaron congratulated with an approving smile, "You both have improved immensely in a very short amount of time." He found it hard to believe that only a month ago, Ash and Riolu were having trouble sensing just where he stood.

"It helps to have a really great teachers," Ash said, beaming at the "living" legend, and Riolu nodded in the affirmative.

"You've really come a long way," Lucario remarked with a grin, patting Ash on the back, proud of his friend. "You've both passed the test of reliance, diligence, awareness and truth in the three months or so you have spent in this world. Many take years to get that far!"

"Well we are pretty awesome," the Black Latios conceded, letting his ego soak for just a moment. He couldn't believe how much time he had already spent inside of the fabricated aura world, and it seemed that time flew even faster here. He knew he would return to find only a few days had passed in the real world, however.

"Indeed," Aaron agreed, a twinkle in his eyes, "Perhaps you are ready for your last test, control. What do you think Lucario?" For a moment, a look of contemplation crossed the aura pokemon's face, assessing the readiness of their pupils.

"Possibly..."

"C'mon! We can do it!" Ash announced energetically, ready to take on any challenge his masters could dish out, all fired up after finally mastering their detection abilities. Riolu answered in a similar, confident manner.

"I'm afraid it will have to wait until another time Ash," Aaron apologized, "Perhaps you should go back to see your friends. You've been in here for a long time. I'm sure they would like to see you again. Mew and Mewtwo probably want to check up on your progress as well."

Ash groaned. Just remembering the grueling training sessions of Mewtwo sent him into convulsions. That pokemon was a slave driver, and he had had only about five real sessions with him! However, he couldn't argue with the results, especially after putting the legendary pokemon's methods into practice inside of the aura world for the last few months. However, it would be wonderful to see his friends again.

"I guess we'll see you later then," Ash answered cheerfully, gesturing for Riolu to follow. He did miss his friends and would love to catch up, even though _they_ would have only gone without him for a total of a day and a half in the real world. Riolu nodded, following after Ash as Lucario opened the portal that would lead them back.

Ash and Riolu took in a deep breath as the fresh air of the Tree of Beginning filled their lungs, reminding them what true nature felt like. It had been so long, for them, since they had seen the familiar crystal formations of the ancient mountain and even longer since they had seen their comrades.

"Race ya to the bottom?" Ash asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes, smirking all the while.

"You're on slowpoke!" Riolu challenged, matching Ash's mad grin with his own as he tore down the mountainside with the Black Latios following him closely behind, his light laughter ringing high among the ruffling trees.

They made it halfway down the slope before the pair suddenly stopped, an ominous growling and rumbling rising from the ground. A chill ran up their spines, like the slight feathery touch of icy spikes gliding against the skin.

"Did you feel that?" Ash whispered, his face contorting into a dark grimace as his eyes scanned the shrubbery surrounding them. His aura fanned out, feeling angry and malicious intent assault the fringes of his powers.

"Yeah," Riolu agreed, his voice just as low and tense, "If this is what we think it is..." Abruptly, the ground violently burst, throwing chunks of hardened Earth into the air and causing clouds of thick dust to rise, obscuring their sight. Ash and Riolu threw their arms up for defense, jumping back as an angry and evil roar sundered the afternoon tranquility apart. They looked up to find the raging eyes of a giant steelix, intent on destroying everything in its path. That wasn't all that appeared, however. Two aggrons, sporting a similar empty, vengeful fire in their eyes that wished for nothing more but to attack everything in sight, jumped out of the same hole, flexing their long claws as they sensed their first potential prey.

Without warning, the gigantic metal pokemon dove, intent on using its broad head plate to smash the two insignificant bugs below into paste before they could escape. Ash nimbly jumped out-of-the-way, immediately transforming into his pokemon form as he took off into the air, knowing Riolu would be able to hold his own, even against two fully grown aggrons.

The iron snake pokemon growled in anger, shifting to face to the now flying latios, watching his opponent carefully. Ash swerved around the massive steelix, contemplating how to successfully take down such a highly defensive pokemon.

He didn't have much time to think, however, as a sudden pain to his chest sent him careening into an aged oak tree, ripping its roots from the ancient ground and splintering it into countless fragments. Ash groaned, trying to shake off the massive amount of dizziness that had resulted from the violent impact. The steelix roared triumphantly, flailing its tail in a premature victory dance.

Ash grimaced, clutching his claws tight. He hadn't expected the hulking beast to be so fast! He rocketed out of the wreckage, deciding to not hold back; he would need all of his power to win. With a cry of anger, he launched a powerful Aura Sphere right at the metal pokemon's head, that attack being the only really effective technique he possessed out of all the others he had.

The iron snake turned around in confusion, a constant buzzing in the air nagging his ears. Just as it did, it was met with an explosion of power, and he howled in pain as the mere force of the attack was enough to shove him back a few feet and dig him into the ground. Ash smirked, using his claws to say 'bring it on.'

Enraged, the steelix opened its mouth, a strange green light gathering there as the iron snake pooled its power. The black eon only had a second to question what it was before a beam of potent dragon energy was sent his way, singeing the tip of his right wing. Ash gasped in pain, and he tried to subdue the burning pain of the wound, but it was incessant, scorching hot like a hundred sharpened knives dragging slowly across the skin, just hard enough to leave lines and draw little trickles of blood.

He clenched his jaw, rocketing forward at his enemy, as he used a quick Double Team to confuse the steelix and buy him more time. The mindless metal pokemon didn't seem to care and instead swiped his tail against the clones, taking out half of them in one full swing.

The Black Latios dived thinking that the massive monster would be too occupied with his clones to pay attention to a wayward dragon image, but to his horror, a constricting tail of slick metal grabbed him, entrapping him in the steelix's tight Bind attack. The towering brute turned to find his quarry caught fast in his trap, like a stuck pig caught on a snare. Ash cried out in pain as the surrounding flesh of the iron snake pokemon slowly constricted, putting intense pressure on all of the bones in Ash's body while the sharp edges cut into him, and the metal pokemon stared, its face lighting up in maniacal glee as it watched its victim slowly die by its literally iron grip.

Ash squirmed and fidgeted like mad, knowing he had to get out before it was too late, but the more he moved, the tighter the hold became, causing his breaths to come out in ragged bouts and spasms. He weakly called out for Riolu to help him, but no small, blue emanation pokemon came to his rescue. He was on his own for this one.

The Black Latios was quickly running out of time as he felt his wings wailing in pain, begging him to stop the endless pain as watery tears pooled in his eyes. Was this it? Was he to die here before even saying goodbye to his friends?

"No..." Ash muttered, a powerful conviction in his voice, "I won't lose!" Suddenly, he reverted to his human form, slipping through the cage, and fell towards the floor as the unavoidable grip of gravity overcame him. Squinting his eyes, he gasped as his body neared the merciless ground and called upon his dormant power. Terror overwhelmed him as his body refused to transform while the cold earth beckoned for his full, bodily embrace. His eyes shut tight as he thought of his friends and their sad faces as they mourned over his battered and broken body. They would all cry, Misty, Dawn, May, Max, Pikachu, Brock, Riolu, Kirlia, all his pokemon friends, and Latias.

He could see her leaning over his lifeless body, begging him to come back as crystalline tears poured from her golden-amber eyes, while his own lightless orbs stared back, unknowing and empty.

No! He refused to see any of them cry!

With a roar of determination, he willed his body to change, and just moments before he smashed into old mountain, his form took place, his wings protesting loudly at the tension and stress he had placed on them in that moment. The Black Latios shot up, refusing to lose and refusing to die; his friends needed him.

He staggered into the air, a new, fragile fire in his eyes as he stared down the mocking gargantuan. Ash would not be outdone. He would defeat this pokemon and defend his friends that were down by the camp, unaware of the danger that only lay on the outskirts of their boundary.

Ash gathered all of his power, his eyes glowing a brilliant blue as he manifested his aura into chains on the earth, forcing them to keep the rogue metal pokemon in place. The steelix fought against his bonds in a ironic twist of fate, thrashing about and firing off multiple Dragon Breath attacks at the strange blue chains that seemed to be made of an energy it could neither harm nor escape. It roared furiously, refusing to believe that it was the one trapped now.

The Black Latios breathed heavily, much of his power drained. This was his last attempt to end this fight.

Ash attacked, firing off a potent Luster Purge at the chained steelix, doing minimal damage but severely blinding the rampant iron snake, causing it to stop struggling against its bonds while it recovered from its induced daze. With his opponent unaware, Ash fired, throwing ball after ball of aura attacks at the chained beast. They all collided with the restrained metal-type, an amazingly strong explosion of dazzling blue-green light forcing Ash back in the air as nearby trees and shrubs were yanked out of the dirt, flying off of the mountain, propelled by the power of Ash's final attack.

He covered his eyes and braced himself in the air, hoping to Arceus that it had worked and that his friends were okay. A low groan rose in the air as the smoke cleared and the dust settled to reveal a still standing steelix, adorned with a multitude of scratches and marks, but still up nonetheless.

The Black Latios moaned in hopelessness; he had nothing left, and he was supposed to continue?

He watched with resigned sadness as the recognizable green energy pooled in the steelix's metal jaws, aimed to strike the final blow. However, the steelix faltered as it gathered the energy, finding its own power suddenly gone. With a groan of pain, the unnaturally colossal steelix fell to the ground, the creaking of its voice reminiscent of a proud skyscraper falling while its steel beams creaked and screeched in protest.

With a groundbreaking thud, the steelix smashed into the archaic soil of the mountainside, defeated and unconscious. Ash had won.

The Black Latios sighed in relief as he floated down to the solid ground, thanking his lucky stars for the timely victory. He took in a deep breath, stabilizing himself as the adrenaline wore off. Suddenly, he heard a snicker from his right side, and Ash turned to find Riolu sitting atop a pile of two unconscious, fully grown aggron, acting as a throne of victory.

"What took you so long?" the emanation pokemon teased as his trainer finished up his grueling battle. Ash rolled his eyes but still smiled despite the numerous cuts, bruises and burns he sported.

"Shut up," he said jokingly, petting Riolu for a job well done, "We need to hurry. The others could be in danger." The small emanation pokemon nodded in understanding and began to walk off, turning around abruptly as he heard his friend fall to his knees with a grunt of pain.

"Ash, you alright?" Riolu asked for the sake of asking, knowing that the beat up trainer was anything but alright.

"Fine..." Ash rasped out, willing himself to stand, knowing that his friends were just ahead. He would not rest until he knew his friends were okay. Right there, Riolu wished he was tall enough to support Ash, but all he could do was nod in acknowledgment as he offered Ash the emotional support he needed.

Together, they limped to the camp site, hearing no cries of pain, yells of fury or blasts of conflict. Pushing through the concealing brush, Ash stepped into the camp, only to find two figures standing there, and his jaws dropped in disbelief.

A slow clap rang through the air, crisp and powerful.

"Well done," Aaron said slowly, still solid and colored appropriately while Lucario smirked.

"Knew you two could pull it off," the aura pokemon added, beaming.

"Wha...wha...what!" Ash could only gasp as he pointed from one aura guardian to the other, stunned into wordless submission. What in Arceus' name was going on!?

"Clever..." Riolu muttered after the initial shock wore off, finally grasping the situation at hand, shaking his head.

"Ahh I see that you've figured it out," Aaron conceded, holding his hands up while a mischievous smile adorned his face.

"Figured out what?" Ash could only asked, exasperated, wondering how Lucario and Sir Aaron could appear in the normal world as they were. Where were his friends? Where was the camp?

"C'mon Ash. It's not that hard..." Lucario teased with a chuckle, remembering that the young trainer could be as dense as he was brilliant. Ash thought about it for a second, going through all the possible explanations.

"You never really sent us back..." Ash murmured, the puzzle pieces coming together, "It was all part of a test..."

"Indeed," Sir Aaron answered with a cheeky grin, "Sorry that it had to be so difficult, but we had to see how well you could control you aura, and seeing as you created chains big enough and strong enough to restrain a rampaging steelix, I'd like to say that you passed brilliantly. Mewtwo will be pleased that you were able to defeat such a strong pokemon."

"So he was part of this too huh?" the trainer asked with a tired sigh. He felt proud but exhausted as well. Leave it up to the legendary to only increase the difficulty of an already difficult test.

"Yes," Lucario responded, "He insisted that while we teach you, we hone your pokemon skills as well. We agreed easily, knowing that you would need it regardless."

"Is that why all the tests after reliance dealt with fighting, running, dodging and trying to save my own skin?" Ash questioned loudly, waving his arms around in disbelief.

"Haha yes," Aaron laughed mirthfully, "I guess fighting for your life really does reinforce learning eh?" Ash glared back at the crazy legend, unamused.

"I still have nightmares about being in a field of Lickylicky from the test of awareness!" Ash yelled, shuddering as his imagination conjured up the creepy feeling of having tongues lashing out against him from every direction.

Riolu, Lucario and Aaron laughed heartily at that, their joyous chuckles steadily increasing in volume as Ash only fumed.

"It's not funny..." he insisted, earning only more laughs from his friends. He couldn't resist and gave into the infectious laughter as well.

"Ahh," Aaron said with a smile, wiping away his happy tears, "You've both been wonderful students. It's been an absolute pleasure teaching you our ancient arts, and I am so proud of how far you both have come."

"Huh?" Riolu stopped, "What do you mean?" Aaron and Lucario gave them sad smiles.

"I'm afraid our time here is done, and with our mission finally complete, we can move on." Lucario answered to the shocked faces of his friends.

"Wait! You mean you're leaving?" Ash exclaimed as he limped closer to his teachers, "So soon?"

"We have lingered longer than were allowed to," Aaron responded with a small smile, "Even so, it was worth it, but we cannot entreaty our fate any longer. We are both dead, Ash. The dead should not live in anyway but in the hearts of their loved ones. We do not wish to become ghosts that are cursed to wander the world for all eternity."

"But..." Ash protested, but was quieted by Aaron who looked at him with understanding eyes. The trainer knew what Aaron had said was true, but it didn't make it easier to accept.

"I cherish the extra time I had to get to know you better Ash, Riolu," Lucario said with a real smile, "I know you two can do this. You have the strength to save the world."

"What about our teachings? What about our aura lessons?" Riolu asked, worried and desperate. These would be the first friends he had ever lost. Strong feelings which he could only describe as a "sinking feeling of helplessness" gripped his chest.

"You no longer need any more teaching from us. You have learned all the basics and all the required skills to utilize your powers. All you can do now is learn on your own. Experiment. Discover who you really are and what drives you. When that happens, you both will truly be Aura Guardians, the last two masters," Aaron said, "I know you both will succeed."

An unnatural howling wind began to pick up and swirl around them, the tornado of air cackling with pure energy, stating that it would not be ignored.

"Death beckons for us," Lucario said with a sad and happy grin, "Indeed to be cliche...parting is such sweet sorrow..."

"Will we ever see you again?" Ash asked, a few tears falling from his chocolate brown eyes. He hated losing friends.

"Of course," Aaron answered simply, "One day we will all rejoice and drink to your name in memory of what you did to save the world from its plunge into eternal darkness. Until then, we will await your arrival with expectations and hope."

The wind became stronger as the swirling vortex began to lift Lucario and Sir Aaron off of the ground towards the calling sky.

"Remember Ash. Your friends lend you strength. Know that with them, anything is possible. Put your faith and trust into them wholeheartedly and you will not fail," Lucario finished as he waved, his form and Sir Aaron's form becoming translucent, shining with ethereal light. "Just as you gave me the strength to find my friend again."

"Farewell Ash and Riolu! May the Aura be with you!" Aaron said with a cheerful smile, "Oh and close the door on your way out okay?" Ash and Riolu laughed at that, promising the human aura guardian, waving back frantically as the two retreating figures became lighter and lighter.

"Bye! We'll do out best!" Ash yelled back tearfully to the glowing outlines of his friends, and then they were gone all together, their spirits finally at peace and able to leave this plane.

Ash and Riolu rubbed the salty tears from their faces and looked up to the pure blue sky of Lucario's and Aaron's world, smiling and simply watching. Those two were in a better place now, and they would do all they could to fulfill their last wishes.

"Well," The Black Latios said, his voice heavy, but still happy, "It's time for us to go too." Riolu nodded as Ash opened the real portal back and stepped through, closing the gateway to the paradise behind them forever.

* * *

Ash blinked and pinched himself to make sure he was back. Everything was pristine, normal and how it should be.

"Let's head back Riolu," the young trainer said softly, remembering the same pathway they had taken down the mountain in their most recent test. "But let's just walk this time." Riolu nodded in agreement, merely looking around to enjoy the rare and still serene nature around them.

They listened as their feet crunched the fallen autumn leaves underneath, the landscape painted golds, reds, yellows and browns. The whispering of the wind filled their ears, whistling a happy tune while the two made their way back to their friends, more aware than ever.

They could see all the living essences around them, the trees, the flowers, the grass and of course the pokemon. The mountain breathed as well, like a kind, sleeping giant, and blood ran though her veins, as real as the crimson they knew to be within their own bodies.

The two continued walking like this, marveling at the natural spirit of the world around them, blind to so many and unappreciated by even fewer. It was such a sudden change of pace for Ash and Riolu, having been vigorously training, running, fighting, and defeating for many months now.

It was nice to finally find some peace and slow down, even if only for a fleeting moment.

Ash broke out into a smile as he neared the camp, able to sense the tell-tale signs of his friends and pokemon working, training and moving about in the clearing up ahead. He grinned down to his aura companion and broke out into a light jog, excited to finally be able to see his friends again after such a, relatively, long time.

"We're back!" Ash announced dramatically as he parted a large leaf aside, stepping in. He was greeted with many happy faces and smiles.

"Ash! You're back!" Pikachu cried as he leapt into the arms of his best friend and trainer, having gone for a good day and a half without him at their side. Ash laughed, hugging his best friend back. He had really missed the mischievous electric mouse pokemon.

"Welcome back Ash!" Latias greeted with a warm smile, drawing him into a tight hug of her own, "We all really missed you!" Ash chuckled, hugging the red eon dragon back, feeling a small amount of heat escape onto his cheeks. He hadn't seen her for almost three months or any of them actually; Ash never realized how much he had missed everyone. Everyone else came in for their hug until they were a giant ball of friends laughing and embracing each other.

"How have you been Ash?" Brock asked, knowing that their favorite male, teenage trainer had been off for three months already to train. "Learn anything new?"

"Tons," Ash answered simply with a big smile.

"How about you Riolu?" Kirlia asked, curious as to how much stronger her best friend had gotten. He grinned with the same smile as his trainer.

"About the same," Riolu responded happily, deciding to give a demonstration. He held out his paw, conjuring up a small crystalline, blue flower out of his fledgling aura.

"Wow! It's so pretty Riolu!" Kirlia gushed as she tried to grab a hold of it, but the construct simply passed through her hands. He gave her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry. I'd give it to you if I could though. I can't really solidify my aura like Ash can, yet," he added shyly, earning a bashful blush from the emotion pokemon. He dissolved the aura flower back into himself, earning some impressed stares from the humans and pokemon.

"Woah...that was awesome!" Max exclaimed, his Ralts agreeing wholeheartedly, "Can you do something cool like that Ash?" Ash smirked; he just loved to show off sometimes.

Focusing on his aura, the Black Latios slowly weaved it into the shape he desired, allowing the essence of his spirit wrap to around him. It was so much easier now, and his powers responded to him very quickly, amassing themselves at the right points and solidifying at others.

Within moments, Ash stood there with a large suit of armor and sword, sharp and deadly. He gave it a few practice swings, remembering the combat training he had received from the deceased knight of Cameran.

"That! Is! So! Cool!" Max basically screeched as he ran around in circles while May chased him, trying to get him to calm down a bit. "Oh man! I wish I could use aura!"

"That looks like it actually is real armor Ash," Misty commented, her eyebrows raised in surprise and curiosity.

"Because it is," Ash responded simply, smacking his blue-green chest plate with his gauntlet, a small clunking sound resonating inside of the spirit metal. "Sword's not fake either. Though, I'm not the best with it." Misty grinned, deciding to test out the armor for herself.

She rushed her best friend and jumped, taking out her legendary mallet and smashing it into Ash's chest, only to find her arm stopped, violent feedback vibrations traveling back up her arms, causing her entire frame to shake and spasm as she fell to the ground.

Ash chuckled as he dissolved the protective suit and offered his a hand to Misty so she could pull herself off of the ground. She accepted it begrudgingly, concealing her small smile.

"That is amazing!" Dawn finally added, after taking a long time to get over her initial shock, "Can you form anything else with it?"

"Anything I can think of basically," Ash answered proudly, earning approving nods from all of his friends.

"Ahhh, Ash you have returned," a sudden and deep voice resonated from above the treeline, "I take it your training was successful? I do hope you did not simply waste your three months in there playing."

"Yeah! I trained!" the Black Latios called back up scowling slightly, a light smile tugging the edges of his mouth, knowing Mewtwo was floating just above them. "I worked on a lot of my pokemon moves, and I can control my aura and psychic powers pretty well now!"

"Most excellent!" Mewtwo exclaimed as he descended into the camp, "Timing is key here, and we are lucky to have had time on our side for the last four days." Mew giggled as she floated down after her comrade, absentmindedly commenting on how much more powerful Ash looked.

"Tonight, we put those powers to the test, and our real mission begins," Mewtwo announced as he gathered the group around them, "Remember, someone or something out there is corrupting Arceus' orbs of aura and slowly killing him as well."

"Ash, it's up to you and your friends to go out and find the uncorrupted orbs and save them while Mewmew and I search for the fiends behind this whole scheme," Mew finished as she floated calmly in place next to Mewtwo, who still grimaced at his designated nickname.

"Use your aura to find the first orb Ash," Mewtwo encouraged, "Focus on the Psychic Aura Orb you hold within yourself and use it to find the next."

"Uh...Not entirely sure how to do that..." Ash answered truthfully, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Just listen, and I'm sure it will come," Mew provided, knowing a thing or two about natural aura frequencies.

The Black Latios nodded, closing his eyes as he concentrated on just listening. After a few minutes of self-meditation, Ash felt a small tug on his inner aura, pointing him south, past his hometown and into the open ocean.

"South," Ash announced excitedly; they were finally starting their real mission.

"Good. Tonight will be the last night you stay here. I take it you have enough supplies to at least make it back to town?" Mewtwo asked as he eyed the eldest trainer. Brock gave a thumbs up in the affirmative. "Restock there and then leave as soon as possible, the quicker, the better." Mewtwo walked over to the Black Latios, a ghost of a smile on his lips. He placed his three-fingered hand on Ash's shoulder and looked down at the male. "We must be off immediately, and I know you have much to do. But I believe you hold the key to this world's survival, and I pray that you will not disappoint me." Ash chuckled nervously, but nodded in understanding.

"Thanks Mewtwo, and you too Mew," Ash responded. Curtly nodding, Mewtwo began to fly off with his predecessor in tow.

"Bye Ash! Good luck!" Mew shouted as her pink body began to disappear above the tree line.

"Bye! Good luck to you too!" They all shouted as the two legendaries disappeared, off to find the source of evil that plagued the world.

* * *

The riding, black night descended upon the ancient mountainside, forcing the light back and shrouding the land in a blanket of celestial stars and quiet darkness.

Ash sat at the edge of the camp, his hands to his knees as he simply stared at the wondrous beauty before him, a sky so clear that nearly every star was out to dance and greet him. He felt closer to them now, somehow, each beam of luminous brilliance warming his skin and giving him peace in an unpeaceful world where the greed of men toppled lives and pulverized dreams without pause or regard.

He turned his head back to the campfire, listening to the idle chatter of his friends and the laughs they shared among themselves. Ash wondered why the world couldn't be the same, a circle of friends that didn't care for their differences, but embraced them and made them a part of their lives, no matter what race, species, language, culture or origin. In the end, they were friends.

Ash wondered who in their right mind would try to kill something like that, a rare flower that blossomed in the wintery winds of the cruel world where savages and beasts beat down on the path to their prey. He had always known that evil existed in the world, but to know that someone out there was blatantly trying to end the last dregs of innocence in the world upset him.

Only a heart of blackened intentions and demonic twistings could stand to watch such things happen.

The Black Latios sighed as he looked back up to the full moon hanging overhead, just wondering. He knew danger awaited him in the shadows, its sharpened claws already bloodied and outstretched, readying themselves for catching another to feast on.

"I refuse..." Ash whispered adamantly, his chocolate eyes reflecting the surface of the brilliant moon. He would get beat up, attacked, marred and scarred, but he refused to give up. Just as the moon was littered with marks of abuse, it still persisted and existed, doing its job without complaining or whining. "I will protect my friends."

He sighed, his mind drifting off to the night where Latias had found him staring out to the same endless sky while his mind plagued him with doubts and worries. He was still scared, but that wouldn't prevent him from forging forward. As long as his friends were there, Ash would endure.

"Alright Ash?" A soft voice asked from behind, bringing him back into the world. He knew that voice well by now.

"Yeah..." Ash murmured and pushed his hands back to support himself, his eyes still transfixed on the night sky. "Second time you've caught me just staring out there...Hope you don't think I'm crazy or anything." Latias giggled before plopping herself down next to Ash.

"No, I don't," Latias breathed out, "I did the same thing back on Alto Mare a lot...I find the night sky to be peaceful...It always helped me gather my thoughts." Ash's lips tugged up in an appreciative smile.

He didn't say another word for many minutes, simply letting the darkened whispers of the night flow around them to fill the warm silence.

"I thought about you a lot when I trained..." Ash muttered, barely audible, his gaze still transfixed on the luminous ball in the sky. "There were times when I wanted to give up...but I knew you'd never forgive me if I did."

Latias was quiet, her heart quickening in pace at his words, and she shivered, knowing that the cause was not the whipping winds that flew around the mountainside.

"Every time when things looked bleak, and I was about to lose hope, I'd remember you and everyone else was depending on me. It gave me strength," he continued, unaware of the effects of his words on the girl sitting to his right. He turned to face her, his face lighting up in a wide grin, still oblivious. "So thanks Latias."

The red eon returned the smile with her own tender one, her heart still aflutter and beating violently in her chest as she took in the heavenly visage of Ash's face bathed in moonlight.

"You're welcome," Latias could only whisper, afraid that her voice would betray her powerful emotions. She tried her best, but Latias couldn't fight the warm blush that creeped its way onto her cheeks. The female dragon wouldn't have sworn it, but she was quite sure that she saw a similar field of crimson adorning Ash's face.

She leaned forward placing a light kiss on Ash's right cheek, and if he hadn't been blushing before, he was definitely red-faced now, shocked by what he had just received. "That's my thanks for telling me." She looked away, her face nearly as bright as her own pokemon form, but she didn't regret it one bit.

Ash sat there stunned, still feeling the ghostly touch of Latias' light lips on his cheek. It burned wonderfully and strangely, and the Black Latios moved his hand up as if touching it would erase the unknown feeling. Alas, it was still there.

Latias still had her head turned, not sure if she wanted to see Ash's expression. She had kissed his cheek before, but never when they were both awake. She gasped as she felt a larger hand enclose her own petite ones, drawing her back towards his face.

Ash was still furiously blushing, but his lips held a gentle smile, one that Latias returned with her own as the feelings of doubt left her. She leaned her head on Ash's shoulder and sighed happily, and together they simply watched their second night sky roll by while they sat underneath the protective canopy of the mountainside.

* * *

_Ash slept, his dreams a peaceful orchestra of timeless laughter and happiness, jingling and ringing with the sounds of his joyous friends. He conducted them with passionate gestures, moving from crescendo to pause to glissando to finale. All of the instruments were in perfect harmony, their dulcet tones rising and falling in perfect synch, never uttering a single note of disharmony._

_But then, the doors to the hall burst open, cutting off the pleasant melody as a nameless figure entered, their instrument out of tune and uncared for, beaten up beyond recovery, but the figure didn't seem to care as their screeching tones attacked. Ash covered his ears in disgust, unable to believe someone would so blatantly disrupt them._

_Adding the final touches to their assault, the figure picked up one of Ash's instruments and threw it at him, taunting him to challenge the disharmonious sounds he so gleefully produced. Without pause, Ash began, weaving his tune with a practiced hand, his eyes locked onto the figure. He would not lose to him._

Ash awoke with a start, crawling onto his knees as the first lines of light peeked out from the horizon. He felt uneasy, his aura cringing and shaking in warning. The Black Latios knew this feeling, and more importantly what followed.

"EVERYONE! GET UP NOW!" Ash roared as he moved to wake up his friends. They were in danger!

"Ash shut up..." Misty groaned, swatting away the empty air while her mind conjured up a picture of her best friend, an annoyed hiss escaping her mouth.

"GET UP! GET UP!" the Black Latios continued. They had only moments until it would begin.

"What's the big idea Ash!?" Brock yelled as he rubbed the bothersome, morning sand out of his eyes.

"WE'RE ABOUT TO BE SWARMED BY A HOARD OF ANGRY POKEMON! WE NEED TO GO NOW!" he shouted as he summoned his flying pokemon and levitated most of the supplies and appropriate tools back into place. If they could, Brock's eyes would have popped out of his skull. Unlike others, he didn't need telling twice.

"UP! WE GOT TO GO NOW!" Brock exclaimed, his frantic voice joining Ash's. A slight growling could be heard from the forest now as everyone was pulled out of their serene dreams. Within minutes, the camp was in absolute panic as pokemon and humans ran every which way to gather up their things to evacuate. They had learned that all the attacks were always centered around the orbs, and if they stayed there now, they would be sitting psyducks.

They paused as an unearthly, unholy moan slid down the mountain, the noise chilling them all to the bone. However, nothing immediately followed the sound.

"I think we have..." Dawn began before, out of no where, the fire pit exploded as the head of an angry onix popped out of the ground, its face glaring directly at Ash as if it could see the treasure housed there. Two sandslashes jumped out from the trees, converging on the barely prepared heroes, and Ash could not help but replay his simulated battle in his head. Unlike the fake encounter, this was a battle he could not afford to engage in.

Brock stuffed the last of his tools back into his pack in a frantic scurry, leaping out-of-the-way of a tackling Gravler, hopping onto Charizard's waiting back. Misty scrambled onto Staraptor's back while Dawn gripped Pidgeot, her wild morning hair still undone and hanging out, much to her mortification. Piplup was doing his best to hold all of the monsters at bay, trapping some in his powerful Whirlpool attacks and beating back others with rapid-fire Bubblebeams. Meanwhile, Latias transformed, picking up Pikachu, Riolu, Kirlia and Max.

'May let's go!' Ash yelled as he froze the rampant sandslash to his right with an Ice Beam, gesturing for the Hoenn trainer to jump onto his back. She screamed as she rushed through the cloud of dust, taking a leap of faith through the obscuring cloud, landing on the soft feathers of Ash's Latios form. Within seconds, they were all up in the air, barely escaping the stampede of indignant ground-type pokemon from down below.

Ash felt sick as he watched the cluster of pokemon grow from the sky, and it followed him from the ground, tracking where he was as the growls and howls of the pokemon below filled the morning air with ominous noises of anger and hatred. Peace was gone.

'There's no time to stop now!' Ash decided as he started flying directly south, while avoiding the town. 'We need to lose those pokemon and keep the town safe!' If they could cross a large body of water, the ground-types below wouldn't stand a chance.

'I can't believe another orb is gone already!' Latias exclaimed as she watched the cluster of deranged pokemon continue to gather below them. They were running out of time and _fast_. Only twelve orbs remained out of the seventeen that existed, and their enemy already had four while they only had one! They needed to even the scales before their enemy, whoever they were, became so powerful that gathering the orbs wouldn't be enough to save the world.

* * *

Well there's chapter 24! Ash finally got some butt-kicking screen time and now TR has four orbs! But, Ash seems to have nearly mastered most of his Aura powers already. He's also purged himself of all those nasty doubts. Now it's a race to the finish line as both teams have finally started.

Oh and Latias** finally** kissed Ash while they were both** awake**! :P

**A/N**

**Still rather busy with applications and such. Most of it has slowed down (thankfully), but like I said earlier, I won't be free until December 1st! It's coming. (Dies...)**

**As usual, I continue to thank my wonderful and busy beta, Tanon!**

For those who still haven't seen it. 

**The Black Latios - Shenanigans Pt 1 - Submitted by AquaShine**

(http)(:)(/)(/)(aquashines).(deviantart).com(/)(#)(/)(d5j4r3f)**  
**

**The Black Latios - Shenanigans Pt 2 - Submitted by AquaShine**

(http)(:)(/)(/)(aquashines).(deviantart).com(/)(#)(/)(d5j4rvt)

Thank you all so much for reading and please review! You patience and support is immensely appreciated!

-Mekon


	26. Ch25: Cloud Castle in the Sky Part 1

******DISCLAIMER**

Pokemon Ownership definitely has not been identified in my pokedex.

_Summary: _After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

"_hello" = _aura

_thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

_"I think we have..." Dawn began before, out of no where, the fire pit exploded as the head of an angry onix popped out of the ground, its face glaring directly at Ash as if it could see the treasure housed there. Two sandslashes jumped out from the trees, converging on the barely prepared heroes, and Ash could not help but replay his simulated battle in his head. Unlike the fake encounter, this was a battle he could not afford to engage in._

_Brock stuffed the last of his tools back into his pack in a frantic scurry, leaping out-of-the-way of a tackling Gravler, hopping onto Charizard's waiting back. Misty scrambled onto Staraptor's back while Dawn gripped Pidgeot, her wild morning hair still undone and hanging out, much to her mortification. Piplup was doing his best to hold all of the monsters at bay, trapping some in his powerful Whirlpool attacks and beating back others with rapid-fire Bubblebeams. Meanwhile, Latias transformed, picking up Pikachu, Riolu, Kirlia and Max._

_'May let's go!' Ash yelled as he froze the rampant sandslash to his right with an Ice Beam, gesturing for the Hoenn trainer to jump onto his back. She screamed as she rushed through the cloud of dust, taking a leap of faith through the obscuring cloud, landing on the soft feathers of Ash's Latios form. Within seconds, they were all up in the air, barely escaping the stampede of indignant ground-type pokemon from down below._

_Ash felt sick as he watched the cluster of pokemon grow from the sky, and it followed him from the ground, tracking where he was as the growls and howls of the pokemon below filled the morning air with ominous noises of anger and hatred. Peace was gone._

_'There's no time to stop now!' Ash decided as he started flying directly south, while avoiding the town. 'We need to lose those pokemon and keep the town safe!' If they could cross a large body of water, the ground-types below wouldn't stand a chance._

_'I can't believe another orb is gone already!' Latias exclaimed as she watched the cluster of deranged pokemon continue to gather below them. They were running out of time and fast. Only twelve orbs remained out of the seventeen that existed, and their enemy already had four while they only had one! They needed to even the scales before their enemy, whoever they were, became so powerful that gathering the orbs wouldn't be enough to save the world._

* * *

Ch25: Cloud Castle in the Sky Part 1

Blue. Endless, never changing, constant blue. It hadn't moved for a few good hours, the far expanse of water seemingly frozen in place, holding Ash down at one point in time and space as the boat that housed them cut through the salty sea air and gentle undulations of the restless ocean.

Every now and then, the ghostly wails of passing wailmer and wailords floated through the air as they breached the surface of the their watery home for fresh gulps of air, and the passing peliper and wingtips cried out in surprise as they met the lone human vessel traversing the watery ways of their home, heading towards the same destination as they: a lone company of islands.

Watching their retreating forms, Ash was reminded of the way they had promptly flown out of the Tree of Beginning a few days ago in the fledgling hours of the morning, frantic and hurried, a natural reaction to having your life and friends threatened. From there, they had flown for a few days until they had reached Vermillion City where they had all immediately fainted in exhaustion in the local pokemon center where Nurse Joy had made a huge fuss over their less-than-optimal condition, combining doting and chastising for their treatment.

It was strange to find that most of the Kanto region seemed to be unaware of the unnatural threat that loomed over them. The world itself seemed to be tipping just over the edge of cliff, and one little pidgey would send it tumbling down into a dark and unrecoverable abyss.

They hadn't stayed in Vermillion long, however, resupplying there and finding a boat and familiar captain to take them out to sea, further south of the bustling port city.

"Who'd have thought I would be taking you guys back to Shamouti Island and on purpose this time?" Maren, the owner of the boat and an old friend of Ash's, exclaimed from the helm, staring far out towards their currently invisible destination. "You seemed to have racked up quite the group of friends Ash."

Mentioned trainer grinned back in response, remembering their last trip four years ago when the sky had darkened and the sea had tossed and turned in anguish at the loss of balance in the Orange Islands. That was where it all had truly started, the designation of a title, his first feat that had saved the entire world from plunging into true chaos. It was ironically fitting to be the first destination on their latest adventure to save the world.

"Yeah," Ash answered, looking at all his friends, old and new, most of them new to the Kanto seas, save for Misty and Pikachu who had both traveled this path before. "How have you been Maren?"

She smiled, smoothly turning the wheel to readjust her course. "Great! Business is doing really well as you can tell." Ash nodded, instantly noticing the bigger and more powerful boat when they had enlisted her services. However, the happy woman had simply waved off all notions of compensation, proclaiming she would gladly take Ash and his friends wherever they needed to go, within reason of course, _pro bono._ "So what sort of crazy adventure are you guys on now?" she asked conversationally as if the subject was as normal as asking for a weather forecast.

The tired hybrid shrugged, staring out again to the standing sea. "You know...normal stuff," he evaded weakly, preferring not to blab the fact that the world was in danger to everyone he knew.

Maren chuckled, easily seeing through the fib, but deciding not to probe further. "It seems that way. By the way, what's your pretty girlfriend's name?" she questioned with a wink, not noticing the small twitch that snaked through a certain redhead's body. Ash spluttered, caught off guard by the sudden query, blushing at the accusation.

"She's not..." Ash squeaked, his voice not very confident or resolute, much to his increasing mortification. Latias, standing besides her trainer flushed a pleasant scarlet, her face sporting a small, light smile, hidden from her flustered friend who was trying his best to deny the claim with little degrees of success.

"Her name's Latias, and Ash is totally..." Pikachu began with a happy little wave, causing Ash to quickly clamp his hand over his best friend's mouth. Kirlia and Riolu snickered to themselves as they watched the familiar interaction.

Maren laughed, enjoying the fact that Ash had changed little in his five years of training, still the same selfless boy underneath his growing exterior. "Oh? I wonder why she doesn't deny it then."

Ash was cornered, unable to explain why the humanized eon was unable to even respond. This only reduced him further into incomprehensible babbling, his heated cheeks not the product of the shining sun overhead. Maren and most of the other passengers simply giggled at his expense.

"She's cute," the captain continued mercilessly, a wide smile on her face, "You guys really do look perfect together. Oh well. Melody's going to be disappointed." Ash groaned, sinking down to rest on the banister of the ship, remember the openly affectionate girl he had met on Samouti.

'Melody?' Latias asked, slightly worried about the possibility of another female competitor, 'Who's she?'

'Currently she's the Festival Maiden of Shamouti Island. She's like the representative to Lugia really though,' Ash answered, recalling the heavenly tune that represented the mighty strength of Lugia himself, the Beast of the Sea. He also blushed as he remembered the "traditional welcome kiss" Melody had promptly planted on his cheek the moment he had set food on the island after being confronted by the exotically dressed islanders.

Latias frowned, feeling as if Ash wasn't telling her something. However, she was unable to pursue the topic further because Maren suddenly cried out.

"There it is! Shamouti Island," the female captain yelled, pointing straight ahead towards a mass of land that jutted out of the flat, blue surface of the sea, completely covered by a large, grey cloud that nearly blacked out the entire island.

"What's with the giant cloud hanging over the island? It's not a storm is it?" May asked worriedly. Knowing that strange phenomenon like that rarely meant good things were happening.

"Oh that? It's just the Cloud Castle. Every year around this time, a strange, large cloud floats over the island and hangs over it for a few days. No one really knows why, but it happens without fail every year. So, the islanders made it into another time of celebration!" Maren responded cheerily, unfazed by the ominous cloud hanging over the landmass ahead.

"Cloud Caslte?" Dawn questioned, squinting to get a better view of the large, sky structure. It sure didn't look like a castle.

Maren nodded. "According to legend, the Cloud Castle housed the gods of the islands as they traveled around the world. Every year, it returns to bear up the prayers of the islanders," she said as they entered the outside radius of the thick cloud, the warm rays of sunlight completely disappearing as the Cloud Castle's shadow painted them black. However, the sea was still calm, sporting no noticeable change in turbulence or violence. It was just dark.

The female ship captain flipped the lights on, cruising comfortably toward the rotating beam of the island's lighthouse, able to see the dancing lights of the ongoing festivities being held. Within moments, Maren had successfully docked at the and was instantly greeted by a deluge of enthusiastic islanders, showering them with various festival paraphernalia and happy cheers.

"They sure are friendly," Brock said, eying a few rare, island beauties that caught his ever wandering gaze.

"Welcome to Shamouti Island!" a loud, gruff old voice greeted warmly, belonging to none other than the island headsman himself. "Make yourselves welcome!" The aging man was accompanied by a large company of islanders, already ready to greet new possible tourists and visitors. Unlike what Ash expected, they were all dressed in normal attire.

"Hey everybody!" Ash said with a goofy grin, hoping off the boat onto the wooden docks of the island's port, and immediately, many of the people in the crowd gasped, including the chieftain, instantly recognizing the excitable pokemon trainer who had saved their island and the world only a few years ago.

"Maren! Why didn't you send word that you were bringing the Chosen One back to visit the island!?" the headsman exclaimed, sending off a few of his attendants immediately to relay the news to the other islanders which would give them ample time to prepare. Ash chuckled nervously, blushing from all of the special attention.

"It's not that big of a deal really..." he tried to insist, but the islanders wouldn't have it, ushering him and his friends out of the dock and onto the streets, leading them towards the main celebratory building where the feast was currently being hosted.

'Well aren't you poplar?' Latias mused with a grin as she was herded by the enthusiastic islanders that seemed to revere Ash with a level of respect that could nearly be compared to a high prince. She truly wondered how much of an impact Ash had made on other towns.

"Maren, welcome back!" Carol called as she weaved through the gathering group, ending up right next to her best friend and the Chosen One, "And look at you! Mr. Chosen One. You seem to be doing well." She eyed the posse of friends that Ash had around him, noticing the three other girls and one guy following him as well as his pokemon. "You don't seem to be lacking in the girlfriend department Ash," she teased, causing Ash to nearly trip and fall. "Though, if they aren't, I'm sure Melody wouldn't mind." The Black Latios could only blush further in response, wondering why every person he reunited with always made the "girlfriend" comment.

"How's Melody doing by the way," he asked, stammering through his sentence fantastically, trying to move the conversation along to hide his blush, something that made Latias very suspicious and Misty all the more irate. The water pokemon trainer was already cautious about what the unpredictable festival maiden would do, knowing she was going to pull something completely outrageous; Latias didn't even know who Melody was!

"Oh, you'll be seeing her soon. I imagine she's getting ready. She IS the festival maiden after all, and that includes this one," Carol answered with a mischievous grin, enjoying herself immensely, "Hmm...I wonder why everything seems to pick up when you guys are around?"

Ash could offer no answer and, instead, defaulted to being lead by the crowd around him who were dancing and singing to their heart's content.

"You guys sure know how to party here," Brock commented, jealously wondering why he couldn't have the same popularity Ash always seemed to carry with him. He had like ten pretty, island girls just fawning over him! He lamented the fact that the universe continued to have a firewall around him that seemed to let no pretty women in, and it was taking all of his willpower to not propose to them all, the knowledge that a double Max and Croagunk combo would immediately follow.

"Wow! Everything here is so pretty!" May and Dawn gushed as they took in the unique festival decorations and atmosphere, unique to the island. Riolu and Kirlia eagerly agreed, having never set foot on an island before, and they were really enjoying themselves as they just took in the new sights.

The streets of the town were lined with characteristic torches, all lit up and burning brightly underneath the black shadow of the Cloud Castle above. It gave the land a mystical feeling, the hazy fumes of the warm fires mixing with the crisp, salty island wind. Under the cloud, the temperature was cool, an unusual weather pattern for an island, but it was a comfortable sort of cool.

Stalls selling all manner of treats, foods and local products were littered along the stone pathways as little children lead their parents around towards the delectable snacks and game stalls, reminding them of the last festival they had attended in Rota. Though at Rota, there weren't giant flocks of bird pokemon roosting everywhere!

"So what are you guys celebrating?" May asked curiously, "Maren said something about a Cloud Castle, but I want to know more."

"Of course. The legendary Cloud Castle in the Sky is a strange weather phenomenon that occurs every year during this time. It is unknown what causes the giant cloud to move here every year without fail, but it brings hundreds, maybe thousands, of flying pokemon with it. Plenty of people have tried to figure it out, but according to legend, the Cloud Castle is the home of the gods of this island. It's the only time where Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres are flying around freely without fighting. This rare harmony prompted the islanders to create a celebration. Thus, every year, when the cloud comes around, the islanders offer up their prayers and celebrate the harmony the gods in the cloud bring."

"They don't fight?" Misty asked, amazed, remembering the furious battle they had participated in to gain control of the other islands one the opportunity had come up. Just as she said this, all three birds flew overhead in a straight line, circling the group before flying back out to sea.

"They noticed you, Chosen One," the head chieftain said sagely, "Of course they would immediately sense your presence."

Ash grinned sheepishly as they finally neared the main celebration building where Melody had performed Lugia's Song for the locals and Ash. Just as he crossed the threshold of the old hall, a smug and sly voice called out to him.

"Well hello Mr Chosen One!" a foxy, confident Melody greeted from an unknown location, causing Ash to look around in confusion, not noticing a sudden body flying through the air, directly heading towards Ash. "Catch!" The Black Latios yelped in alarm, bracing himself as a light, distinctly feminine body fell into his arms.

"Uh..hi Melody? Good to see you too?" Ash stammered as he was enveloped by the petite arms of the festival maiden. She was dressed in normal, street clothes, her dark sunglasses resting neatly upon her green beret. That one little detail hadn't changed. Ash noticed that she had grown a considerably, given that it had been about four years, and had filled out nicely. However, even with that, he was now taller than her by a few inches.

"Hey there you!" Melody answered with a cheeky grin, "You forgot your welcome kiss!" Before Latias or Misty could respond or react, she planted a long kiss on Ash's cheek, pulled back and booped his nose affectionately while Brock decided to fall onto his knees and cry to the heavens. "You sure turned out cute." Ash was stunned, unable to fight the rising blush on his face that resulted from the unexpected display of public affection from the older girl. He didn't even notice the two girls standing behind him, their faces less than pleased. One was very worried, and the other was very, very angry.

"Hey!" Misty yelled, shoving Ash aside violently, causing him to let go of Melody, "If you guys are done with all of your lovey dovey stuff, I'd like to get something to eat! Thank you!" She stormed off to the food table, not wanting to even look at Melody again, lest she do something she would regret.

Latias stood quietly behind Ash, not sure what to do. For one, she was not feeling so kind towards this Melody girl. She was kissing HER Ash right in front of her for Arceu's sake, and Latias could not help but feel immense jealousy. She actually wasn't sure if she should be upset with Melody for pulling the stunt or with Ash since he almost looked like he had enjoyed it!

'I think I'm going to join Misty," Latias answered with a timid squeak, brushing past Ash, not noticing the concerned look her trainer sported as she less-than-nicely pushed past him. Dawn groaned, wishing that Ash wasn't so oblivious, but then he wouldn't be Ash. The Sinnoh trainer just hoped that he would make it up to them somehow. She decided to move over to the two upset girls, dragging May along for girl support.

Melody noticed it, however, and smirked slightly, latching herself onto the visiting trainer's arm.

"Want to grab something to eat Ash? I know all of the best festival foods. My treat," Melody asked with a visible wink, instantly answered with a loud rumble, courtesy of Ash's overactive stomach. She giggled, "I guess that's a 'yes'" She grabbed him by the hand and led him out of the building and out onto the street, leaving all of his friends and pokemon behind as he was pulled away from them by the assertive, festival maiden. Soon, he was out of sight, swallowed up by the crowd.

"Well...that escalated quickly..." Riolu commented, noticing the angry eating patterns of Latias and Misty who were both situated at the same table, jamming food into their mouths at breakneck speed while Dawn offered her condolences, much to May's continued confusion.

"Why!" Brock continued to cry into the sky, still on his knees, "Why can't I have beautiful women come up to me and kiss me like that! Why?!" Max only shook his head and dragged the lamenting past gym leader to their table, absent of one critical team member.

* * *

_With Latias and Misty_

Sitting down with an annoyed huff, Misty slammed her third plate of food down violently on the poor, wooden table that creaked and cried under the abuse. She was furious and had half a mind to whip out her mallet which would surely be stained with the blood of a certain blockhead. The red head clenched her fork tightly, stabbing the fried piece of food laying on her plate multiple times before she plopped it into her mouth, eating it grumpily.

It had happened TWICE! Melody had kissed him TWICE already! And she hadn't even done it once in her life! To make matters worse, it had happened right before her eyes, in front of everybody...again, just like last time. The table was lucky Misty hadn't taken a knife with her, because it would have been reduced to a pile of twigs by the end of the night.

Latias wasn't fair any better, though she kept her anger in check...barely. She was more worried than anything else, and her slow eating gave off waves of uncertainty and nervousness as thoughts of Ash enjoying himself with that other girl bombarded her thoughts.

Did he like her more? Did Melody have something that Latias didn't? Had she not tried hard enough?

Her mounting jealousy wouldn't tell her, and sharp pangs pounded at her chest as her mind envisioned the two teens kissing passionately underneath the cover of the Cloud Castle as they confessed to each other their...

Suddenly, she wasn''t very hungry anymore.

"Stupid Ash...Stupid! Stupid! Idiot!" Misty ground out, tearing the latest piece of meat with her teeth in a savage fashion. Latias grimaced, knowing that Ash was fortunate to not be in range of Misty's ire, and as much as she wanted to just fly after her trainer and give him a piece of her mind, she couldn't, rooted to the spot by her own insecurity.

"_Do something!"_ she told herself, almost desperately, _"Go after them!_" The red eon was afraid of what she could find there, however, but she knew she would regret it if she didn't find out. She had to make a choice and act, but her own powerful emotions held her back though her mind screamed.

She was frozen, having never confronted jealousy or uncertainty for anyone, especially Ash. Latias had always been so sure that her pursuit of Ash would be perfect, having forgotten that there were others out there that could and would compete for his affections.

The red eon was so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed Maren taking a seat next to her and across from the cross water pokemon trainer.

"Hey girls," the cheery captain greeted as she placed her food and drink down, "Why the long faces? It's a festival. You should be having fun!"

Misty mumbled something unintelligible, her mouth occupied with a hot bowl of crab soup. Latias just frowned, unable to answer on her own, but her averted gaze told everything. Maren eyed them critically, a bit confused by their gloomy attitudes; they had been so happy only moments before. She looked back and forth between the two girls until she came to the only possible conclusion.

"Boy troubles?"

Misty choked on her latest morsel, smashing away at her chest until the threatening piece was dislodged rather ungracefully, and Latias stiffened tellingly, her frame surprised at the suddenly broached topic.

"What...what makes you say that?" Misty attempted to divert, but her weak voice, courtesy of her brush with death and simple surprise, did little to help her sound convincing. "Maybe I'm just hungry!" Looking away, the headstrong, stubborn girls tried to cover up all signs of anger and resentment but failed spectacularly.

Latias remained quiet, refusing to meet the perceptive woman's eye.

"What? Is it about Ash?" Maren continued airily, a tricky grin on her face and a laughing glint in her eye. Misty didn't even bother attempting to answer, knowing that if she tried to explain herself, she would end up in a hole deeper than the ones Team Rocket made. The ship captain giggled, "Hmmm...No? Is it about Brock then?"

"NO!" Misty screeched, horrified by the fact that someone would even suggest that. Brock was like the older brother she never had, and just having someone think she thought of him that way made her feel a bit queasy. Latias answered in a similar fashion, shaking her head violently while waving her hands to frantically declare "NO!" as well.

The green-haired captain chuckled, and much to the two girl's fear, they knew there was no escape now. However, they were more surprised with each other's response than Maren's deduction. They eyed each other with suspicion, wondering why the other girl had responded so strongly. Was it possible that...

"Anyways," Maren continued with a impish grin, popping a piece of friend shrimp into her mouth absentmindedly, "If you want a guy to like you, you really have to show that you like him. Most men are pretty oblivious, especially when it comes to relationships. If you don't make it clear, they won't understand at least ninety percent of your intentions, especially if they are the innocent type."

Misty snorted, mumbling something about "Melody" and "shameless" while Latias shuffled in her seat uncomfortably.

"Melody's always been rather expressive," she continued fondly, almost reading the two teens' thoughts, "Carol's the same. Even when I lived on the island, Carol and Melody never really had too much trouble with talking to guys, but I did. I remember this one time when Carol started going out with this one boy I really like. I was really upset at her for a long time, but after a while, I learned that it was my own fault since I hadn't taken the _initiative_ first."

"Well what happened to the boy?" the red head asked for the sake of asking, not really in the mood to be counseled.

Maren grinned. "They dated for a long time and eventually married. I was one of Carol's bridesmaids at the wedding actually." Misty balked, not expecting such a drastic outcome. "So it just goes to show, a little _push_ can go a long way."

Suddenly, Latias stood up and walked out of the festival hall, her steps holding purpose, while Maren looked on with a smile.

* * *

_With_ _Ash and Melody_

Carried through the crowd by Melody's insistent tugging, Ash suddenly found himself outside on the crowded streets of Shamouti Island, surrounded by gaggles of happy-go-lucky people.

"You'll love these!" the outgoing festival maiden declared as she stopped in front of a small food stand, the smell of deep fried festival food causing Ash to salivate as the delicious aroma filled his nostrils. "Two please!"

The man behind the counter nodded happily as he handed over two steaming bags of "something" into Melody's waiting hands as she counted out the cost, placing the correct amount of money in the shopkeeper's hand before moving on. She handed one of the snacks over to Ash, encouraging him to take a bite.

Taking on of the hot pastries in his hand, Ash observed it for a moment, trying to conjecture what it was, before deciding to just take a swift bite of the tantalizing snack, feeling a deluge of warm and delicious flavors enter his mouth.

"Mhmmm! Wha...is this?" Ash asked through another mouthful, almost demolishing the food item in half.

"Deep fried, coconut-battered curry buns!" she answered with a giggle, taking a smaller, more petite bite out of her own treat as she looped her arm around Ash's. "They are my favorite, especially since they come in a variety of curry flavors. I think they are the best!" Ash could only agree by finishing up his and going back for another one...or a couple dozen. Melody actually had to stop Ash from buying more, because she was afraid he would miss out on everything else!

"So what have you been up to Ash? Some more heroics and adventures right?" Melody asked as she plopped herself down on a secluded bench sitting on the edge of the beach. Ash tentatively sat down next to her, patting his full belly painfully, having actually eaten enough food to satiate his immense appetite.

"Nothing really...just normal every day pokemon stuff," he downplayed with a small chuckle.

"Ha...I bet it's still exciting," the festival maiden responded, "And besides...you and "Normal" probably don't mix too often. Even I can see that." She giggled, pulling her knees up onto the bench as she stared out into the familiar ocean. "I'm sure you've gone on plenty of adventures and saw lots of crazy things and saved a lot of people."

"Maybe...but I never really meant for anything to happen...they just did. Or I got caught up in them."

"Makes life exciting though right?"

"Of course...but it also makes it really stressful," Ash answered truthfully, still feeling the not-so-gentle tug on his aura. With each passing hour, it seemed to be getting stronger and stronger, concentrated somewhere on the island, but he had yet to discover its source.

Melody sighed, laying her head against the trainer's shoulder, looking up at the darkened sky above.

"Wish my life was as exciting as yours really...All I get to do is sit here on this island, year in and year out," she muttered, stuffing her nose into his shirt, inhaling his scent. Ash represented everything she wanted, excitement and freedom. She loved the island, but the festival maiden hoped she wasn't destined to spend her life on it forever. There was so much she wanted to see, and so much she wanted to do.

"I'm sure you've done lots of fun things too," Ash answered nervously, extremely aware of the warmth pressing against his side, "Not many people can say they are festival maidens. It sounds like a big honor around here."

Melody snorted. "Yeah...sure. I love it here and all, but nothing ever happens! It's always the same song and dance...literally."

"Well...have you ever thought of leaving the island?" the Black Latios asked cautiously.

"A couple times...but everything I think about it...I wonder where I would go...or who would help me. I don't have many friends that live off the island like you do Ash," Melody said nervously as she glanced at Ash, watching his reaction, pulling her two fingers together.

"That's why you make some new friends," Ash answered cheerfully, causing the girl to groan.

"Hey Ash."

"Yeah?"

"What do you think about me?" Melody sprung on him randomly, making Ash jump back in surprise, completely caught off guard.

"Uh...well...uh..." Ash stammered, nearly falling off the bench as Melody scooted closer to him, "I think you're...um...nice?" He was clearly aware of their proximity now, and it made him nervous. There was this strange look she was giving him , and Ash wasn't quite sure what to make of it. "Why?"

"I just wanted to know," she answered simply, looking away slightly, "Do you want to know what I think of you?"

"Um..okay?" the Black Latios answered, unsure, a bit afraid of where this conversation was steering. All of his "danger" signals were going off in his head, but he was confused because it was only Melody.

"I think you're courageous and brave and a really wonderful guy. You take care of your friends and look out for everyone, including your pokemon and strangers. When you came here five years ago, I saw how you cared for them all without a second thought for yourself. There aren't many people in this world who can love like that," Melody said with a bright blush as she twirled her thumbs anxiously, "And because of that...I really...like you."

For once the Black Latios could tell...this wasn't a normal "like." Ash just sat there dumbly, feeling a hot blush creep up onto his cheeks as he was confessed to for the first time, but he had no idea what to do! He had never been placed in this situation before. He already had trouble talking to girls about romantic stuff in the first place. This was way out of his depth.

"It's okay...you don't have to answer or anything," the auburn-haired festival maiden responded, "I just wanted you to know." She smiled up to him and leaned back in the bench, pressing against Ash's shoulder, just letting the time pass.

"Hey," Melody suddenly said as she squinted out towards the horizon where the evening sun was beginning to enter its bath, "Let's head back. Dinner's almost ready. Wouldn't want everyone to eat without us!" Ash simply nodded, too caught up in his own thoughts to do anything else or to notice the slight rustle in the bushes and the sudden 'whoosh' of air behind them as he was lead by the carefree girl.

* * *

_At the Festival Hall_

"Ash! You're back!" Brock exclaimed as he saddled up to his best, male friend, "So so so? How'd it go?"

"I don't know..." the still train-wrecked boy answered simply as Melody, clinging to his sides, giggled.

"C'mon! Don't leave out all the juicy details!" the elder goaded with a nearly vampiric expression, "I. Want. To. Know. Everything."

"Calm down you relationship bloodsucker," Max exclaimed as he grabbed the overextending man from interfering any more, "It's almost as bad as you trying to propose to women. Besides, I doubt anything big happened anyway. Ash just isn't like that."

Ash coughed, trying to remind the boy that he was still very much there, but Max shrugged, dragging Brock out of the way.

"Hey Ash. You shouldn't be cheating with other women you know," Pikachu said with a smirk as he hopped on Ash's head.

"What are you talking about?" Ash whispered fiercely, confusing Melody who simply watched the exchange with interest, "I don't have a clue what you're going on about." Pikachu decided to remain quiet less he make the situation worse than it already was. Ash was already guaranteed one thorough beating, and even though it would be funny, the electric-type didn't want him to get another.

Ash sighed, deciding to just walk over to where everyone else was sitting, noticing it by the less-than-subtle waving Brcok was doing. Weaving through the already partying crowd, he came up their table, occupied by all of his friends, most of whom already had food.

"Welcome back you guys," May said with a friendly wave, "Did you have fun? Anything memorable?"

"Umm...well you could say that. We did eat a lot of good festival food," Ash answered with a little blush, remembering exactly what "memorable." Melody just grinned, still holding Ash's hand. "Have you all been here the entire time?"

"Hmm...well May, Max and I weren't" Dawn recalled, "We went out just after you two did to check out the festival."

"We went around to explore the island with Pikachu," Kirlia and Riolu chimed in, "It was pretty cool. There's lots of strange pokemon around here, and Pikachu even had a conversation with Zapdos!" Ash grinned, making a mental note to Ask them about their adventures later.

"Well I definitely wasn't in here...not when there were so many babes to see!" Brock declared, instantly shut down by the appearance of his Croagunk's poison to his gut. It was quite obvious how much progress he had made out there.

"Melody!" a voice belonging to Carol suddenly called, "Get over here! You have to get ready for tonight's show!" Melody sighed, but released her hold of Ash and walked off to find her older sister, leaving the group.

"What about you two?" Ash asked after the festival maiden had left facing his at the furiously eating red head and Latias who was looking away.

'Went out for a little bit...not much really,' Latias answered quietly, her mental voice a bit uncomfortable and...reluctant.

The Black Latios frowned as he sat down across from his two friends, wondering what was wrong. "Um...are you guys okay?" he asked uncertainly, scratching the back of his head again out of nervousness and fear as he felt the tension in the room rise and thicken. Misty gave him a dark glare before taking a vicious bite out of her turkey leg to convey her agitation. Latias simply stared down at her feet, not wanting to meet Ash's gaze for reasons he did not comprehend.

"Fine," Misty finally ground out between her teeth as she took another sizable piece of meat. Ash gulped. He knew that voice well enough; he had done something to upset Misty and was going to pay the price...one way or another.

The trainer had first heard it when he had accidentally fried Misty's bike, but this time, it was nearly ten times as scary. He must have REALLY messed up somewhere...but he didn't know where. He looked at Latias too, recognizing her behavior was extremely off as well.

She looked sad and a bit fidgety, not wearing that usual, beautiful smile that she always had. Most of the time, Latias would happily greet Ash too with a spirited hug or something but nothing had been offered this time. He must have REALLY REALLY messed up.

"Pikachu...what did I do?" Ash whispered desperately, recalling that the electric mouse had been talking about something earlier.

"Well that's easy enough," Kirlia interjected while folding her arms and shaking her head, "You didn't spend time with them even though they are your friends, but you spent all your time with Melody today."

"Huh? Why would that be a problem? I was just spending time with an old friend," Ash explained, looking to Latias for confirmation since he knew that she understood what Kirlia had just said. Riolu sighed, already seeing that Ash didn't get the gist of the situation, and Latias didn't look up to acknowledge her trainer's gaze. He didn't get it at all, and that was clear to all of them.

"Look Ash," Riolu started, "It's easy enough to figure out. They are jea..."

"Welcome!" a loud and cheerful voice announced, abruptly drawing everyone's gaze and attention to the elevated stage in the celebration house, "Tonight, we celebrate the return of a hero! The Chosen One!"

* * *

Ash was stuffed, having eaten a total of two full meals for the afternoon, and his painfully bulging belly protested at the prolific amount of food its owner had consumed, no measly feat for the usually endless abyss.

Despite that insistent annoyance, it wasn't what was weighing heavily on him at all. Rather, it was the fact that both Misty and Latias hadn't spoken another word to him for the entire night, even now when they were safely holed up in the guest house the islanders had provided them.

That fact, compounded with the knowledge that they hadn't achieved or progressed towards their original goal, served to irk him to no end, causing him to pace back and forth in his bedroom, trying to uncover the reason behind at least one of his problems.

"I just don't get it!" Ash declared dejectedly, and Pikachu yawned in response, "What did I do? And what can I do to fix it?...I mean...they wouldn't have a problem with me spending time with May or Dawn...so why are they so bothered by the fact that I spent time with Melody?"

"This is a problem for you to figure out on your own Ash," the electric-type answered with a yawn as he prepared his place of sleep, "I can't tell you the answers all the time. Maybe you should think about it during a bath. It might help. The hot springs they let us use outside are pretty great. We should stay in fancy places like this more often."

The Black Latios rolled his eyes, but did agree to the idea that a good soak might let the ideas flow and clear his muddled thoughts. It was definitely better than gouging a hole in the floor from his non-stop pacing.

He made his way down the hall and exited the house, sliding the panels to access the backyard hot springs. Ash was grateful that the islanders felt the need to lavish them with excessive treatment; it was nice to be acknowledged for good deeds every now and then.

Slipping off his battle-worn clothing and setting them on the side banks atop his towel, he hopped into the waiting and warm waters with a little splash, sighing blissfully as the perfect temperature massaged his senses, and leaned against a natural rock formation that sat in the middle of the natural spring.

It had been so long since he had relaxed like this; camping in the forest didn't really make time for leisurely soaks and daily bathing.

He turned his thoughts towards his two, clearly upset friends. The Black Latios was used to Misty getting upset at him for the littlest things, but this was the first time Latias had given him the cold shoulder. It really bothered him.

"What did I do?" he asked to no one in particular as he stared up to the gray, cloudy sky above, wondering how many stars were out tonight. "All I did was hang out with Melody..."

And for a moment, he considered that that fact was the root of the problem.

"But why?" He went over everything he had done with the outgoing festival maiden. They had just hung out...until they had sat on the park bench.

"That stupid Ash!" a sudden voice cried out as four distinct splashes echoed through the previously silent night, and two giggling voices accompanied Misty's sudden declaration of annoyance.

Ash panicked, remembering that the hot springs were open to both genders, and the fact that the only thing that separated him from his four clothless and FEMALE friends was the small rock between them.

"Why so upset Misty?" Dawn giggled, deciding to tease the water pokemon trainer a bit, "It's not like it's a big deal anyway. All he did was go on an impromptu date with Melody. It mean it's not like they kissed or anything...I think."

"Yeah...she kissed him," May added with a laugh as she swam around a bit as the spluttering sounds of Misty choking on water surged through the steamy air.

From behind the rock, Ash was trying his best to remain quiet to avoid detection, but he couldn't help but overhear the conversation his friends were having. It was making him blush rather fiercely as they classified his "hanging out" as a "date."

He was really panicking now though, because if one of them decided to move to the other side, he was dead. However, he couldn't help but stay in that spot, because they were talking about what he had done. If he stood there a bit longer, maybe he would discover his wrongdoing.

"I think it was a bit unfair to for you two to be mad at Ash," the Sinnoh trainer added wisely, "I mean the poor guy doesn't mean anything by it, and he was so bothered by the fact that you two were upset."

"Yeah...Ash probably doesn't have one romantic bone in his body," May commented with a giggle, "He wouldn't understand. You'd have to explain it to him outright. Besides...it isn't like you two like him or anything right?"

Suddenly, three bodies in the hot waters tensed as their breaths caught in their throats. Ash, halfway to the edge of the pool paused as he strained his hearing to listen in to the response. He didn't know why, but his heart began to beat hard and fast, the constant drumming rising to his head and ears.

"Y...yeah...right!" Misty declared weakly, her voice a little unstable, "That idiot? There's...there's no way! Why would I like a jerk like him?"

"Aw c'mon. Ash isn't that bad. He may be kind of clueless and dense, but he's not a bad guy," Dawn defended with a sneaky smile, "I mean at least he isn't like Brock. All he thinks about when he isn't doing something is women and what he can do to get one."

They all laughed at that, knowing it to be true.

"Yeah. I mean if I didn't think of him as an older brother," she continued, "I'd understand how you could fall for him. He may not be the most romantic of guys, but he's reliable and nice at least."

"Determined almost to a fault too," May added with a giggled, "He just doesn't know when to quit, but it's an admirable sort of characteristic. Plus he's always thinking about other people."

"Well he has saved me and the world a few times..." Misty conceded with a small voice, "I guess that counts for something...but still I don't like him that way."

Ash blushed at all of the secretive high praise, but he still didn't understand what he had done to make Misty and Latias so upset. He was almost there; the rim of the spring was less than an arms length away.

"Hmm...well then there's no reason to be jealous right?" the Hoenn trainer continued obliviously as she moved around a bit more.

Neither Misty or Latias decided to answer this time, remaining deadly quiet. Ash was frozen in place, however, halfway out of the water.

They were jealous? Jealous of Melody? Even Latias? Was that the reason they were so angry with him?

He was so preoccupied with his pondering that he forgot where to look when he was walking and stepped on his towel, causing him to fall backwards on the slippery tile. Ash waved his arms around frantically as he tried to regain balance, but gravity had other ideas.

Suddenly, he found himself back in the water with a splash, bursting up to the surface to spit out the water he had swallowed, coughing violently as he beat his chest.

He opened his eyes to find four stunned, standing females staring at him with wide eyes, and before he could explain, their shrieks drowned out his explanation, rising up and out in a volume so loud that even people on the fringes of the island would hear.

Ash screamed himself, jumping out of the bath and grabbing his towel as four irate, towel-clad women chased after him to punish him appropriately.

"Hot springs are relaxing my butt!" the Black Latios yelled as he ran through the house, trying to escape from the four women after his blood and life. However, he would never forget the image that was burned into his eyes.

Pikachu just continued to laugh. Things seemed to be back to normal already...almost.

* * *

Ash groaned as he massaged his wounded head. Misty's preemptive blow really did a number on him, but he was glad his friends had understood when had explained it to them while shaking in the corner in fear of what they would do to him. That alone had saved him from being beaten to a pulp by the three others.

Of course, now, every time he looked at one of them, both respective parties would both blush and look away. He suspected that it would be like this for a while.

However, the one that caused him to blush the most was Latias, because when he had come up from the surface, he had been situated closest the red eon, giving him a rather...clear view. The fact that something like that had already happened to him before, though with a towel, made it only worse.

"Shesh," Max said, shaking his head, "Who'd of thought you would pick up some bad habits from Brock of all people?"

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Ash hissed, his face going red again as _that_ image flashed briefly in his mind. Brock, on the other hand, had a different sort of reaction.

"Oh it's a glorious day indeed. Our little Ash is growing up!" he declared, "If we had some sake I would drink to this, but I can't let minors have alcohol after all."

Ash face-palmed, mumbling darkly that he was going to sleep as he left the two boys to their rest in the guest room. He had been provided his own room, given his status, and again, Ash was grateful that the islanders were so accommodating, even if it was a bit overboard.

He slid open the door to his room, shaking his head as he plopped down into bed, crawling under the covers as he prepared to sleep. Pikachu was already snoozing away peacefully, but why did it feel so cold...even underneath the thick blankets?

An hour later, Ash still hadn't escaped to his blissful dreamland. Instead, he was as restless as ever, and the most infuriating part was that he didn't understand why. This was the most luxurious bed he had ever slept on, and yet, Ash had slept more soundly on the soft grass of the open forest next to...

The boy shook his head, deciding that a midnight walk might do him some good. Tiptoeing through the house, he shuffled the door apart and walked out into the torchlit night where the hot springs still bubbled.

The moist air was warm and soothing while the tiles on the floor were cold and wet, but it didn't bother him too much. He walked to the fence, looking out to the town, riddled with flickering and natural flames, accompanied by the occasional electric lamppost.

It was peaceful, an untouched and uncorrupted corner of the world, and he was reminded of why he was here in the first place. He had a job to do, and the orb would wait for no one, not him nor the masked villain behind the scenes. But, his mind didn't linger there long. Ash trusted that his friends would help him get the job done.

For now, there was one problem only he could fix, and he had to fix it.

"Couldn't sleep?" a sudden voice interrupted, a voice he knew all too well. He chuckled as he just stared out to the town.

"You could say that..." he answered, not turning, "We really shouldn't make it a habit to stay up this late...How did you know I was up?"

She shrugged as she moved to stand next to Ash. "I can just feel it I guess..."

A tense silence hovered over the two as she stood next to each other, a quiet that would suffocate them if Ash didn't do something.

"I'm sorry...about today I mean," he continued, "I really didn't mean to make you upset...or um...peek."

She laughed quietly in response, moving a little closer to the boy. "I know...Please don't worry about it. It's not..."

"Yes it is..." Ash cut in, turning to face the girl who he had upset earlier today, "I don't like it when my friends are mad at me Latias...Please tell me what I did wrong."

Latias smiled warmly as she grabbed Ash's hand and looked down at his chest. "Ash...do you like Melody?" she mumbled, barely loud enough to be heard, but it was clear enough for Ash.

"Wha? Well of course I like her. She's a friend."

The red eon shook her head. "Not like that...I mean...um..as like...boyfriend..girlfriend like."

Ash balked, confused as to why Latias was suddenly asking this question. "No of course not," he answered slowly, remembering Melody's sudden confession to him in the park. "Why?"

"No..no reason," she answered mareepishly, turning back towards the town to hide her face, "But...I'm glad." Ash's eyebrows raised a bit, but he didn't question her further, the constant tugging of sleep slowly overpowering his senses.

"Are you sure you're okay Latias?" he yawned out one last time as he stretched, making sure to look down at her face.

"Much better now actually," the red eon answered with a yawn similar to Ash's, "It's pretty late. We should go to sleep." She made to walk back to her room, but was suddenly stopped by Ash's hand.

"Um...would you mind...um...it's just that I sleep better...um.." Ash mumbled out slowly, unable to keep the blood from rising, "What I mean by that is..."

Latias giggled, silenced the babbling boy by laying a slender figure on his lips and nodded with a smile, leading the boy back inside and to the bed, and Ash's sleep was instant and peaceful in the warm embrace of a dragon. Tomorrow, they had real work to do.

* * *

**A/N Didn't feel like making me Beta work during the holidays, and especially on New Years! **

* * *

Sorry! This is my late Christmas Present to you all and Happy New Years! Thank you so much for your support and love!

Perhaps I like night rendezvouses a bit too much...but in my defense, it creates such a good atmosphere!

And oh hot springs, a glorious cliché that must continue to be exploited!

Anyways. So what is with that giant cloud hanging over the island? How much more with Ash and Latias progress in their relationship? Where is that orb that keeps nagging at Ash? Lot's of stuff to figure and sort out. Coming up in part 2!

Oh and many people have been commenting on the fact that they want to see Latias more as a Pokemon...well you're going to get a lot of that soon in the next chapter. After all, they have to get up to the Castle somehow right? And it won't be just battling mode either!

**OH and for those who didn't actually read your Christmas Present from me! There's an extra holiday special on my profile! If you want some real LatiasXAsh action go ahead and got there!**

Thank you all for reading and please review!

-Mekon


	27. Ch26: Cloud Castle in the Sky Part 2

******DISCLAIMER**

Use a False Swipe to kill a pokemon. Try it.

_Summary: _After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

"_hello" = _aura

___thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

"_Couldn't sleep?" a sudden voice interrupted, a voice he knew all too well. He chuckled as he just stared out to the town._

"_You could say that..." he answered, not turning, "We really shouldn't make it a habit to stay up this late...How did you know I was up?"_

_She shrugged as she moved to stand next to Ash. "I can just feel it I guess..." _

_A tense silence hovered over the two as she stood next to each other, a quiet that would suffocate them if Ash didn't do something. _

"_I'm sorry...about today I mean," he continued, "I really didn't mean to make you upset...or um...peek." _

_She laughed quietly in response, moving a little closer to the boy. "I know...Please don't worry about it. It's not..."_

"_Yes it is..." Ash cut in, turning to face the girl who he had upset earlier today, "I don't like it when my friends are mad at me Latias...Please tell me what I did wrong."_

_Latias smiled warmly as she grabbed Ash's hand and looked down at his chest. "Ash...do you like Melody?" she mumbled, barely loud enough to be heard, but it was clear enough for Ash._

"_Wha? Well of course I like her. She's a friend."_

_The red eon shook her head. "Not like that...I mean...um..as like...boyfriend..girlfriend like."_

_Ash balked, confused as to why Latias was suddenly asking this question. "No of course not," he answered slowly, remembering Melody's sudden confession to him in the park. "Why?"_

"_No..no reason," she answered mareepishly, turning back towards the town to hide her face, "But...I'm glad." Ash's eyebrows raised a bit, but he didn't question her further, the constant tugging of sleep slowly overpowering his senses._

"_Are you sure you're okay Latias?" he yawned out one last time as he stretched, making sure to look down at her face._

"_Much better now actually," the red eon answered with a yawn similar to Ash's, "It's pretty late. We should go to sleep." She made to walk back to her room, but was suddenly stopped by Ash's hand._

"_Um...would you mind...um...it's just that I sleep better...um.." Ash mumbled out slowly, unable to keep the blood from rising, "What I mean by that is..."_

_Latias giggled, silenced the babbling boy by laying a slender figure on his lips and nodded with a smile, leading the boy back inside and to the bed, and Ash's sleep was instant and peaceful in the warm embrace of a dragon. Tomorrow, they had real work to do. _

* * *

Ch26: Cloud Castle in the Sky Part 2

_Tugging. Pleading. Gnawing. Clawing. Screaming. Silence._

Ash awoke with a startled gasp, clutching his chest madly as the beating of his erratic heart pounded powerfully, leaving a dull ache in his ears and head. His breaths came in random bouts, uneven and jumpy, as he recovered from the vivid dream. Creaking his eyes open, he was met with darkness and stillness; the night had yet to fully end it seemed.

He sighed, trying to disregard the tugging in his heart, already understanding what was causing his immense discomfort. It was here; there was not doubt about that. However, he couldn't pinpoint the source, and that bothered him to no end. It was almost as if someone or something was attempting to hide the nearby aura orb, but for what reasons, the boy didn't know.

Blinking in the blackness, Ash attempted to rise, seeing as he was already up and about anyway, but was stopped by the tight grasp of Latias at his side. He sighed, laying back down to stew in his own thoughts, not wanting to disturb her sleep. However, a small blush graced his face as he remembered yesterday's incident, but he kept quiet.

Contrary to the near fit she had just thrown, Latias' breathing was slow, smooth and unburdened, almost blissful. Likewise, Pikachu, Kirlia and Riolu were sleeping peacefully in the early morning darkness, absolutely unaware of the night terror that had struck their trainer.

The nightmare was a potent reminder of what Ash had set out to do and what he had promised to protect: the four serene smiles in his room and the smiles of everyone else.

Despite his resolve, the boy really hoped the devilish dreams wouldn't become a nightly occurrence, but it would do him no good to dwell on the dream now that he was wide awake. So instead, he defaulted to observing the dragon that lay in his arms. (1)

He couldn't help it as a small smile spread across his face while he simply watched her, admiring how her face seemed to shine, even in the darkness. His thoughts drifted to how they had first met, and he was sure that it was a fateful encounter. Everything had fallen into the place after that.

Ash wasn't quite sure what he had done to earn her trust or respect and much less her approval, but he was grateful for it nonetheless.

She was kind, smart, strong, independent, understanding, supportive and undoubtedly beautiful in whatever form she was in. Even a dense blockhead like Ash could recognize that, but it still made him wonder why and how he was blessed with her presence. She had entrusted her safety to him, and to him alone, a boy, unremarkable and barely above-average even though he aspired to be the best.

Yet, she insisted he was the best and everything else in between. Ash knew, deep down, that he didn't deserve such a wonderful friend and pokemon. She trusted him completely and would follow him anywhere, from the deepest depths of the ocean to the highest skies above without complaint.

What had he done to earn her unwavering faith?

He didn't know.

"Perhaps I'll find out someday," Ash whispered, moving to get up early and prepare, a rare occurrence. He carefully extracted himself from Latias who immediately protested at the loss of warmth, extending her arms out by reflex to recapture her heat source. Chuckling quietly and now standing, the young man placed an unsuspecting Pikachu in her arms as a substitute which she took happily, nuzzling her cheeks into the electric mouse's fuzzy underbelly, her face complacent and peaceful again. He grinned as he stepped back to view the scene; all four of his pokemon were happy and well.

Passing quietly through the sliding, wooden doors and replacing them as smoothly as possible, he walked calmly into the kitchen and flipped on the lights. Since the others were always waking him up with breakfast ready in hand, Ash saw no reason to not reciprocate. Even he knew how to cook a basic breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast. Pancakes were pushing it though.

Levitating the eggs out of the fridge, Ash grinned at the thought of using his psychic powers to cook. It definitely made things easier he concluded as he picked out a stray shell bit that had wandered into the whites. However, he grabbed the chopsticks manually; there was a certain satisfaction in making the food by hand.

However, he did prep the next pan with oil to receive the strips of bacon he fetched, breathing in the delicious aroma briefly before returning his attention to the eggs. With a casual flip, Ash lightly cooked the other sides to make sure the eggs had been prepared properly before transferring them to a standby plate which had also been levitated into place.

It all became automatic for a moment as he became lost in his thoughts again, contemplating his next move and the next part of their plan.

From what he could tell, the orb was definitely here, but despite having been dragged all around the island yesterday by a certain, exuberant festival maiden, Ash hadn't felt the slightest increase in potency. In fact, wherever he was on the island, the signal remained a dull throb.

Abruptly, the smell of smoking bacon withdrew him from his musings, and he hastily deposited the slightly overcooked food onto the waiting plate lined with paper, deciding to make some scrambled eggs next. As he beat the eggs into a smooth, even, yellow mixture, his thoughts strayed again, this time, to the snoozing dragon in his room.

Yesterday had been the first time he had seen _that_ much, and the sealed, black eon couldn't help but be reminded of the time when Latias had fallen onto him in nothing but a towel all those weeks ago. Quickly, Ash shook his head, wanting to clear his mind of such dirty images, and he wondered how he could even think of Latias in such a way.

"_Latias is my pokemon,"_ Ash berated himself mentally. But above that, she was a girl, and he definitely did notice that. Still, it wasn't proper, pokemon or not, to think of her in such a way.

However, as he poured the egg batter into the waiting pan, afresh with oil, the young man couldn't help but think about her, the way she clung to him in her sleep, the way she always smiled at him for no reason at all, how she seemed to light up whenever he wanted to train...

There were countless little things he could recall, small details that even he was surprised he knew. Her preferred tools for drawing were charcoal and chalk. She liked to drink everything through straws since she found them fun to use. She loved to sing even though it only came out in 'eeps' and 'mews'. Favorite color was green. Favorite season was summer. No onions or cabbage and absolutely no bell peppers.

He laughed to himself as he remembered the last time Brock had whipped up something with aforementioned peppers; Latias had practically launched that plate into the upper stratosphere.

Piling his finished eggs onto another plate, the first sounds of life from the house slithered down the hall as a door slid open to greet the enticing smells of eggs and bacon.

"Well aren't you up bright and early?" Brock asked as he walked in, surprised but pleased. He grabbed one of the plates and placed it on the table, looking them over, appraising them. "Cooked well, but next time, I think a small dash of garlic salt with constant whisking under a lower heat would make them even better." The master cook didn't even bother to comment on the one plate of burnt bacon, deciding it was better not to ask.

Ash snorted but chuckled. "You're welcome." Brock laughed and held his hands up in surrender, happily piling some food onto his plate; not having to cook every now and then was a rather nice change.

"So what's the occasion?" the older trainer teased, his eyebrows raised and a light smile on his face, "Did Latias ask for breakfast?"

The Black Latios simply shook his head, wondering why his friend would even mention her in the first place. "Nah...She's still sleeping."

The eating man nodded, but smiled regardless. Even if Ash didn't know it himself, there was something there, and Brock could easily tell. Perhaps it was the way his friend said it so tenderly or the way his eyes seemed to soften when he spoke about her.

"Well then, what's the grand plan for today? We don't have a lot of time on our hands," Brock moved on as he looked out the window, greeted by a cloudy-gray sky, barely lit up by the first few rays of sunlight skipping across the salty waters. "You said that there's an aura orb around here somewhere, but you couldn't find a single thing that could resemble it yesterday."

"Yeah...I looked all over the island, but the feeling didn't change at all," Ash admitted as he joined his friend at the table. Brock held his chin suspiciously, humming to himself.

"Strange...It's almost as if the orb's signal is being blocked." Brock sat there, puzzled, wondering what force could dampen the orb's strength, and as usual, the whole affair they had gotten themselves into only seemed to grow more and more mysterious as time passed.

"Well...We won't give up anyway. If we just keep at it, we'll have to find it eventually," Ash said solemnly as he also turned his gaze to the window, the never-ending grayness blocking his view of the blue sky once more.

* * *

Ash sat as he watched the sunrise, half relaxed and half anxious, on an aged, wooden bench poised on a weathered cliff overlooking the sea. The stray beams of light bathed his body in warmth while the cool, sea air sang her song to him soothingly.

"This place reminds me of Alto Mare," a soft voice stated happily, and Ash grinned as he turned to find Latias standing there behind him, looking out over the cliff toward the endless ocean, "It's strange, but no matter where you are, the sea air feels the same."

"I'm sure it feels a bit different back at home though," Ash said with a hint of guilt in his voice but was suddenly stopped as a pair of arms encircled his neck from behind.

"I am home though. I'm your pokemon after all, so I belong with you, wherever you feel like going," Latias said plainly, quietly giggling as she rested her head on Ash's while they watched the sunrise finish, unaware of the massive blush that had taken over her trainer's face.

It was technically true, but for some reason, it really touched Ash's heart and made him extremely happy.

"Hey Latias."

"Hmm?"

"Hold on real tight okay?"

"Huh?" Latias asked, and was answered as she was abruptly pulled into the air, her hands suddenly around the strong, soft neck of Ash's Latios form She readjusted her grip quickly as they soared away from the ground, and she pouted, "Ash! Don't scare me like that!"

"What?" the Black Latios teased, feigning innocence as he floated in the air a couple dozen feet above the glistening waters, "I thought I'd treat you to a ride. You've let me ride you before." He laughed gleefully, earning a smack, playful, from Latias.

"Idiot," she muttered, trying to hide her blush, but he didn't pay her any mind. Ash was determined to show Latias just how much fun it was to ride a pokemon for once.

"Here we go!" he abruptly declared with an excited yell, dropping straight down in a vertical dive, feeling the adrenaline rush through his body and head as he rocketed towards the unforgiving blue expanse below with Latias screaming the entire time. Effortlessly, just as he was about to plummet headfirst into the sea, he pulled up sharply, leveling himself off a feet or so above the water, laughing the entire time.

"ASH YOU JERK!" Latias screeched as she hugged him with her entire form, breathing heavily, hoping she wouldn't slip off. Not being in control while flying was something she was definitely not used to, but there was a different kind of excitement in it that she had never felt before. And she knew why it was different; it was because she had put her complete trust in Ash at that moment.

The Black Latios was truly enjoying himself now, and he dropped one of his claws into the foaming waters, splashing his passenger lightly with a misty spray, resulting in more laughs and grins. Soon, she started relaxing, even bringing her arms away and throwing them into the air. It was exhilarating and liberating to know she could count on her trainer to keep them safe.

"Going up!" Ash suddenly declared, prompting Latias to re-wrap her arms around his strong neck as they dove upwards into the sky, straight towards the wall of gray clouds that loomed overhead. He wanted to see the sun, in all of its glory, above the clouds and framed against the blue sky.

The gray layers were cool and thick, acting like barriers that wanted to keep him out of the sky, but Ash pressed forward into the encompassing grayness, focusing on Latias' warm hands to block out the chill from the icy moisture. With a determined, final burst of speed, the Black Latios broke through, opening his eyes to find brilliant rays of unimpeded sunlight streaming in, reflecting subtly all around him as the beams hit the field of clouds.

He smiled peacefully. "Even though it's only been one day, I still missed the sky," Ash admitted with a chuckle, glancing back at Latias. She agreed wholeheartedly, and they simply floated there for a couple of minutes, letting the rising star bathe them in true light.

"Thanks for this Ash," Latias murmured softly as she hugged her trainer tighter from behind, "It really was a lot of fun."

"Don't mention it," Ash answered, chuckling, "Let's head back before they start worrying about us though."

Ash prepared to dive into the clouds, turning his body around to do so. However, he froze in midair as his eyes met an enormous structure perched in the sky. It was a castle, impossibly beautiful and white, carved out of the clouds themselves, perfectly detailed and more exquisite than any castle Ash had ever seen on the ground.

Latias was likewise stunned speechless as she surveyed the front face of the imposing structure. It towered over them, rising out of the gray field of clouds like an awesome god watching over the skies, and they could only float in place for a few moments, admiring the architecture of the monument, Japanese in style, and wondering how and why something so otherworldly existed in the clouds.

Like many of the Japanese castles on the ground, the floating fortress rose out of the dirtied clouds naturally and proudly. Its steeped walls warned all intruders to be wary in approaching while tall, white turret towers silently observed for threats. It was powerful and majestic, projecting a message of fear that commanded and demanded respect and acknowledgment. The main keep itself was distinctly more extravagant, detailed and decorated on every face, seemingly crafted by the hands of a master.

Ash and Latias didn't know where to look, and if a castle such as this one had existed on the ground, they would have assumed it belonged to an emperor or king.

"What is this place?" Latias finally asked breathlessly as she jumped off of Ash's back and transformed in the air to get a closer look, "It's amazing!"

Her trainer didn't answer, but his face held a faraway look as if he were going into a deep trance. He had felt it for a moment, and it could be nothing else.

"It's here!" Ash exclaimed excitedly as he returned to reality, flying straight for the only entrance in sight, "The orb is here!"

"Huh?" the red dragon questioned in confusion as she flew in behind her trainer, "The orb is here? Of all places? Are you sure Ash?"

"Positive," Ash confirmed, looking up to the main tower, feeling the tug on his consciousness grow as he gazed up at the structure, "It's in that main tower right there."

"In the castle huh? When they said 'Cloud Castle', I didn't expect them to mean it literally," Latias said, feeling a bit worried about who or what had created this place and who lived in it now.

"Well let's go!" the Black Latios insisted, an excited grin adorning his face as he crossed underneath the entrance archway. He ran his claw against the wall; it was cold, but more importantly, it was solid. It was as real as the dirt of the earth and the metals of the city. "This is pretty cool."

Quietly, Latias followed Ash into the castle, sticking a little closer to him, perturbed by the empty homes and houses that stood within the walls, as to be expected of course. It was a bit eerie still, and from what they could tell, the fortress housed enough buildings to hold thousands. Yet, not a single soul other than themselves were in sight.

"Let's fly straight up to the main keep," Ash said as he floated above the first few houses, avoiding the long staircase that lead up to the next level, one of about ten. Nodding, Latias followed closely behind as she looked down upon the abandoned city.

The female dragon didn't know why, but she felt apprehensive about approaching the main tower, her instincts were ringing in alarm, but the red eon followed her trainer regardless. She did take solace in the fact that Ash was enjoying himself at least.

Reaching the final level of the tiered castle, Ash stopped in front of a pair of giant doors, wrapping his claws around one of the door's embellished knockers. Pulling the knocker back, Ash slammed it down twice on the doorway, the dull sounds echoing across the clouds.

"WHO KNOCKS UPON MY DOOR?" a booming voice roared, knocking Ash back from the sheer volume and force of the voice, "SPEAK OR DIE!"

Ash stuttered, completely caught off guard, but Latias' eyes widened in surprise as she recognized that voice. Before her trainer could make a fool of himself, she pushed him aside lightly, nodding to him confidently as she took a deep breath.

"Ray! Stop acting so high and mighty already and open the door!" the female dragon yelled with a small smile, waiting expectantly for the heavy doors to swing open. Much to her satisfaction and her trainer's surprise, they did creak open, almost immediately, and Ash could only gawk at his pokemon, amazed at how fearless she had been in the face of such a powerful voice and presence. "Silly dragon. Never was good with greeting others," Latias explained to Ash with a giggle of her own which only served to further confuse the Black Latios.

"Latias, do you know who lives here?" he asked, surprised, as they floated through the doorway, "I thought you said you've never seen this place before."

"I haven't. But I definitely recognize that voice. There's really no mistaking it," she answered calmly, "There's only one pokemon in the world who would bother to speak like that..."

"And that pokemon would be?"

"Rayquaza," two voices said in unison, and a large shadow suddenly appeared in a ring around Ash and Latias, overshadowing them in size and power impressively. Looking up, Ash found a giant, green dragon coiled around the room in a protective fashion.

"Latias. You should have told me you were coming to visit," a low, gravelly voice complained, "I would have prepared a little better. You even brought a gust. How utterly embarrassing."

"Yeah well, I couldn't exactly find you anywhere, and you never even told me where you lived in the first place," Latias answered cheerfully, encouraging Ash to come further in to meet the dragon of the sky. The Black Latios had to admit, aside from size and stature, Rayquaza's aura alone intimidated him. It was strong and regal, comparable to a proud ruler. He steeled himself and opened his mouth to announce himself, but was suddenly cut off as Rayquaza spoke again.

"Ahh...Well, it is pleasing to see you once again. You are doing well I presume?" he asked, his voice noticeably softer and kinder. There was this strange gentleness to his voice that Ash couldn't quite place, and it made him feel a bit uneasy. Nevertheless, Ash concluded it was just a mere byproduct of his nervousness. "And who is your companion? I have never seen a Latios with such strange coloration before. Has he only recently been born?"

Latias giggled. "You could say that Ray." The sky dragon's eyes shined with interest as he inspected the new specimen. "And I have been doing very well, all thanks to my trainer of course."

"Trainer?" Rayquaza muttered, his voice harshly turning as he lowered his head to Latias' level, his face a bit dark and disapproving. "What possible human-" he began, almost spitting it out, "-could possibly possess the skills and worthiness to train a pokemon such as yourself? You who are a legendary pokemon, blessed and created by the Father himself?"

"Oh, he's wonderful!" Latias declared, ignoring the obviously disdainful comment and winking at Ash who was still attempting to find a proper place to introduce himself, "Ash always takes care of me, and it's because of him that I'm so strong now." Ash blushed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"You don't have to make me sound so amazing Latias," he finally contributed, causing Rayquaza to rapidly shift his attention to him, "I just do what I can."

Rayqauza dryly laughed. "Very amusing," he said with a half-interested voice as he rolled his eyes, taking what Ash had said as a bad joke.

"Huh? What's so funny about it? I really am her pokemon trainer," Ash restated, this time a bit more forcefully, a bit annoyed by the dragon's blatant dismissal.

A look of clear displeasure passed upon Rayquaza's face, and he muttered to Latias, "It would be best if you helped your companion learn when to know when a bad joke has extended its limits, less he offend."

"Ray," Latias scolded, "Leave him alone."

"Why? He is blatantly insulting you right in front of us," the sky dragon retorted icily, "To state that a pokemon can act as a master to another pokemon...only the Father himself has that holy right. As your friend, I will not stand for such outrageous disrespect."

"What! I wouldn't ever disrespect Latias!" Ash suddenly shouted, ticked off. If there was one thing he wouldn't stand for, it was someone insinuating that he mistreated his pokemon. "I am her pokemon trainer."

The Black Latios actually had to duck as Rayquaza took a swipe at him with his deadly claws. "How dare you claim to be Latias' master! You are but a pokemon, and while you may have some legendary blood in your veins, you possess no true birthright to power, fledgeling dragon," the green dragon hissed, obviously angered at this point.

"Rayquaza!" Latias yelled, jumping in between her old friend and her trainer, her voice void of the previous warmth, "You may be an old friend, but so help me, if you raise another claw at Ash again, I won't hesitate to attack myself."

"You defend him? What has that devil done to delude you into believing he is your trainer?" Rayquaza demanded, barely containing the anger in his voice, "What sort of trickery has he used to fool you?

Latias bristled at that comment, growling angrily, "He hasn't done anything. Ash is a human." Rayquaza's eyes only hardened at that, believing it to be an outrageous lie, and he regarded Ash with hostile, disgusted eyes, wanting nothing more than to get another swipe in with his claws.

'Ash, transform back quick,' the female dragon ordered, knowing the supernatural, cloud floor would support Ash's weight, 'Show Rayquaza.' The Black Latios nodded, shifting back into his human form instantly, landing on the solid and soft cloud with a small burst of light.

Visibly, Ash and Latias could see the shock filter through Rayquaza's face, and they thought he would cease his hostilities, but for some reason, it only enraged him further.

"What is this!" Rayquaza roared, his eyes widening impossibly as he recognized the human and confirmed it wasn't just a simple illusion. He was the same boy who had helped him in the past, but it had to be impossible. There was just no way for a human to turn into a pokemon. "You are that human with the Pikachu!"

"Ash Ketchum," he clarified, trying to cool himself down. Ash did find it reasonable that the green dragon would object to a pokemon having another pokemon as a trainer.

It took a moment, but Rayquaza finally fit all the pieces together. This boy was the man Latias had fallen in love with, Arceus' so called "Chosen One." He was the one she had constantly talked about whenever he had visited her in Alto Mare.

"You are the one who has claimed Latias as yours?" Rayquaza muttered quietly, seeing the situation in an entirely new light.

"Uh...well, I didn't really claim her. She wanted to come with me, and I agreed," he answered with a real smile, earning a happy coo from the red eon dragon. Neither of them noticed it, but the sky dragon's face hardened considerably as he witnessed the open affection Latias showered Ash in.

"What qualifies you to own Latias?" he asked, his voice low.

Ash paused, trying to come up with a list of positive things on the spot, but none of them seemed particularly impressive enough. "Qualities? Err...I just kind of do my best. Latias is an important part of my family, and we do out best to help each other in any way we can," he answered truthfully, nervously shouldering the cold glare the green dragon sent his way.

The sky dragon wasn't satisfied with that answer at all, and instead it only magnified his feelings. "Only the strongest may protect the strong. I protected Latias for two years and taught her how to develop her dragon abilities while you were off gallivanting after adventure, abandoning her to deal with her brother's passing alone."

"Hey! I didn't abandon her. I left her in the care of her family, because I knew she was strong enough to handle it!" Ash yelled, extremely offended that Rayquaza had accused him of leaving a friend to suffer alone.

"Essentially the same," Rayquaza snarled.

"Enough!" Latias shouted, breaking up the argument. She was very, very angry. "Rayquaza! I respect you a lot and you are a good friend, but if you can't accept Ash or at least tolerate him, I can't continue being your friend."

This caused Rayquaza to balk. His friendship with Latias was very important to him. She was one of the few pokemon he actually respected, and he adored her for it. He had partially lied about disapproving of Ash because he was inferior. The truth was he was angry, because this boy in front of him was the one Latias loved. Even after all of his hard work to gain her affections, this boy had still won out. Rayquaza was jealous, but he wouldn't let himself lose Latias' trust.

"I apologize," he ground out painfully. In the end, Latias was what mattered. "I overstepped my boundaries. I do not have the right to judge whom you choose as a worthy trainer." However, he glared at Ash one last time, and they both knew the war wasn't even close to being over. "That aside, to what do I owe this visit?"

"We're here looking for something," Latias continued after taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, floating instinctively closer to her trainer, "I'm pretty sure you know what's going on with all of the aura orbs." Rayquaza nodded, wondering how the Father's crisis had anything to do with the sudden visit. "We've been tasked with gathering the uncorrupted orbs, and Ash said he sensed an aura orb around here somewhere."

Rayquaza was quiet, his eyes curious and guarded as he reviewed Latias' statements carefully.

"And pray tell, what do you wish to do with the orb here Ash?" the green dragon asked suspiciously, indirectly confirming the treasure's existence, "The secret of the orbs is not to be taken lightly. Humans have already taken many for their own selfish reasons, corrupting our Father himself and many of his precious children, and I am currently guarding this one."

"It is my mission to recover all of the safe orbs first and then go after the corrupted ones once they reveal themselves," Ash stated bravely.

"You have yet to answer my question boy," Rayquaza barked, "What do you intend for the orbs? Power? Influence? Strength?"

"Nothing," the young man answered truthfully, not wavering in his statement, "I don't need anything from the orbs. I only want them to be safe so that the world can return to normal. The longer this continues, the more pokemon are hurt."

"Ha!" the sky dragon laughed darkly, "A human claiming he wants nothing in return for doing what is right! Impossible. Your kind has always been the same. You take what you believe you deserve, because you can."

"That's not true Rayquaza!" Latias protested passionately, "Sure there are plenty of horrible humans out there like that, but Ash isn't one of them! He's one of the most selfless and purehearted people I know along with all of his friends."

"Hmph" the larger dragon sighed, only further irked by the red eon's statement, "You speak so eagerly to defend them, yet you forget it was the humans who took your own brother away from you."

Ash jumped violently at that; using Latios against Latias was a low and unforgivable blow. He growled menacingly, his aura flaring malevolently, and the Black Latios wanted nothing more than to teach the haughty dragon a thing or two with his claws. However, it was his pokemon who responded first.

"That may be true..." she whispered painfully but fiercely while holding her claws to her chest, "But it was also another human who saved me and my brother in the end, and that is a fact as well. There are always two sides. It is impossible and unjust to label humanity as wholly evil."

"I see no reason not to," Rayquaza fired back, "I've watched on for centuries as they destroyed and overran everything around them, land, air and sea. If there is an obstacle, they simply crush it with all of their might, even if that obstacle is one of their own. Not even the most dangerous Seviper will lethally poison one of their own species. Only humans possess the darkness to turn upon their own, and no other creature is more vain, proud or arrogant. They are weak, preferring to stand on others rather than grasp their own strength."

Ash grit his teeth in annoyance and frustration. There was a small grain of truth to Rayquaza's words, but his total condemnation of the human race angered him. However, he had to keep his cool; he was on a mission, and he couldn't fail.

"Still. We need that orb," Ash insisted, swatting aside all of the green dragon's insults, "We promised to gather them all." Rayquaza rolled his eyes, but suddenly a devious idea came to him, causing a plotting smirk to spread across his face.

"Fine. I will give you one chance out of generosity to gain the orb since you are my guest. If you can defeat me, I will grant you the orb. Prove to me your worth through your claws, Ash Ketchum!" the sky dragon roared with a predatory grin, "However, if you cannot best me. Latias will stay here with me, and you will swear to never look upon another orb or come back here again."

"WHAT!" Ash bellowed, furious at the fact that Rayquaza even dared to suggest such outrageous terms. Latias floated there in shock. She knew the cause of the request, but she never knew her old friend would stoop so low.

"What is your decision Black Latios?" Rayquaza taunted, pulling a shining lavender orb out of the ceiling for the boy to see, waving the orb enticingly in the air. Surely, he had this hook, line and sinker.

"No," the Black Latios ground out suddenly, turning his back to the dragon, stunning Latias and the green dragon into silence. "Sure. I'm on this mission to save Arcues and the world, but more importantly..." he said defiantly, turning his back one last time to give a hard determined stare at Rayquaza, "I'm on this mission to save my friends. So why would I give up on one? If I can't save this world with all of my friends, then I don't want to save it."

Latias gasped, her eyes tearing up a bit as she heard Ash's words. She felt that fluttery feeling that made her fall in love with Ash in the first place fill her heart again, and the female dragon quickly flew to Ash and wrapped him up in a tight hug. He had basically said she was worth more than the world to him, and she squealed in delight, nuzzling her trainer lovingly.

Rayquaza roared in displeasure, secretly impressed by Ash's steadfast decision. However, he wasn't going to give up either. "You have heart boy...For that I will extend one more gift. If you can defeat me, I'll also grant Latias the ability to speak, truly speak as a human does."

"Huh?" Latias suddenly asked, spinning around to face her old friend. "What?"

"It is a simple matter for me, the master of the air," the green dragon continued, knowing he had at least Latias' attention. It was extremely underhanded, but if it got him what he was aiming for, he reasoned it was worth it.

"The answer is..." Ash began before he was stopped by his pokemon who looked at him with pleading eyes. Latias wanted and needed that ability if she were ever to truly be with Ash in the eyes of society. This was her one chance to make that happen.

'Ash. I think you should fight him,' she said, knowing she was being a bit selfish.

'Latias. I don't even want to think about the possibility of losing you. The answer is the same,' he said firmly. Ash wouldn't risk anything if it meant losing a friend.

'Please. I know you can do it Ash,' she said, 'I have faith in you. You would never lose if it meant losing a friend.' The Black Latios cringed at that. A warm feeling suddenly rose in him, and he felt like he had to confirm Latias' sentiment.

'Latias. That's so mean. Using my own weakness against me,' Ash complained, already feeling his resolve starting to crumble in the face of Latias' puppy face. That move should have been deemed illegal ages ago.

'Please? For me,' Latias repeated once last time, increasing the power of her pout tenfold while renewing her affectionate rubs, nearly certain it would convince him. And like she hoped, Ash caved.

"Fine. I accept," Ash sighed, turning back to face Rayquaza, his eyes filled with determination; he wouldn't disappoint Latias, and he surely wouldn't lose either. He transformed, flexing his claws confidently. The Black Latios would have been lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to fighting the legendary dragon with his full strength. He had a few things he had to pay back.

"Excellent," Rayquaza purred, settling his yellow eyes on Ash's dragon form. He would prove to everyone, pokemon and human, that this boy was nothing more than a fake, a fluke, a child of coincidences and luck. Arceus would never choose a mere human boy to hold the fate of the world, and with this, he would also prove to Latias who was better and who deserved to stay by her side.

* * *

_Meanwhile on the island_

"Where in Arceus' name did those two go?" Misty growled as she stomped up and down the cobbled streets, glaring irately at nothing in particular and just being angry in general, looking for Ash and Latias who had both, conveniently, disappeared just moments ago. The rest of the group was following her closely, mainly because they were afraid of what the water-pokemon trainer would do when she found Ash. It would most likely be bloody.

"I'm sure they are fine Misty," Brock attempted soothingly, only to be gifted with an annoyed mallet strike to the head.

"I'm not worried about that idiot!" she yelled, emphasizing her point by pinching the elder trainer's cheek violently. Brock flailed around in pain, begging for mercy and apologizing for assuming as he tried to release himself from Misty's sharp claws to no avail.

"Brock's right though. If they are together, they'll be fine," Dawn restated, her voice a bit distracted as she eyed a shop that sold some exotic sweets, "Latias would never let anything happen to Ash. If we just hang around, I'm sure we'll find them sooner or later."

"I think Misty's more worried about the fact that they are _together_ than anything else," Max implied, shrugging as he moved ahead, missing the way smoke seemed to be pouring out of Misty's ears.

"It is a bit strange that even Pikachu has no idea where Ash is though either," May added, looking down to the electric-mouse pokemon who was talking rapidly with Kirlia and Riolu. The Hoenn trainer suddenly clasped her hands together as she imagined something. "What if they are on a secret date or something? Oh it's so romantic!"

May's comment was met with mixed results. Misty was fuming, spluttering incoherently about idiotic and oblivious blockheads, and Brock was daydreaming, wondering what kind of date Ash could set up. Dawn laughed, imagining Ash having a particularly hard time just trying to ask for a date. Max couldn't care less, and he was pretty sure Ash wasn't even close to that stage yet.

"Yeah. Sure he is," Max said sarcastically, shaking his head as he asked his Ralts where he wanted to go next, "And a giant, green dragon is going to blast him out of the sky after that too. Like that will ever happen."

* * *

Latias was worried, extremely worried. Maybe asking Ash to do this wasn't such a great idea.

She sat, alone, in the middle of a giant, empty field of clouds, Ash on one side, Rayquaza on the other, both seemingly ready to strike at a moment's notice. Just from their harsh glares alone, she could see the festering tension simmering between them, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat as the aura of bloodlust washed over her.

Ash remained calm, regarding his opponent carefully, knowing that this battle had too many things riding on it for him to mess up. This wouldn't be like fighting a simple, rampaging steelix. This was the legendary sky dragon himself, self-crowed Emperor of the Sky. He had centuries of fighting experience, and would most likely be one of the hardest pokemon Ash would ever fight.

"This is your last chance to back out boy," Rayquaza said for formalities sake; he was actually itching to get into the fight.

The Black Latios scoffed, flaring his aura in response. "No thanks. I have someone I don't want to disappoint." He wasn't going to back out now. Latias was counting on him. Plus, his opponent had insulted his entire race and had one of the aura orbs with him. Those reasons alone gave him enough premise to fight.

"Fool," the green dragon said coolly, instantly disappearing from sight and materializing right in front of Ash, bringing his glowing claws down swiftly in a sharp arc aimed for his opponent's head.

Ash gasped instinctively, raising his arms in defense, casting the quickest Protect he could just as the shining claw connected, blasting Ash backwards as his powerful shield was shattered effortlessly. His eyes hardened as he recovered from the preemptive strike, alarmed at the speed and power Rayquaza possessed.

"Hmm...I must commend you for that block. No pokemon has ever managed to deflect my ExtremeSpeed and Air Slash combination move," the sky dragon said with a wicked smile, "Perhaps you'll actually provide me with some semblance of entertainment."

Ash growled, not wanting Rayquaza to get the better of him. He would have to pull out all the stops for this battle.

Rocketing up into the sky, Ash began to barrage the slithering dragon below with an array of Aura Sphere attacks, but each blue orb missed spectacularly as Rayquaza elegantly weaved in and out, dodging every attack, laughing the entire time.

"Is this the limit of your power?" the sky dragon asked with a mad grin, disappearing again and reappearing next to Ash, catching him off guard. "How disappointing." Ash's eyes widened as he was hit with a powerful bolt of electricity, causing him to cry out in pain as the white hot energy surged through him.

He grit his teeth. "This is nothing! Just getting started," Ash yelled as he broke away from the electric attack, thanking the fact that Pikachu had spent much of his life shocking him, granting him a small amount of resistance, but it still hurt a lot. He turned and flew straight at Rayquaza, his claws growing blue as he tried to attack with a Dragon Claw attack, hoping the close range would work to his advantage.

However, his attack met thin air as the green dragon disappeared again, materializing from above, cackling as a torrent of fire smashed down onto Ash's unprotected back. Again, Ash broke away, grunting as he silently thanked Charizard this time for constantly exposing his face to flames. Still, he couldn't keep taking hits like that.

Ash had to battle smart. Closing his eyes, he quickly used Double Team, creating a dozen extra copies of himself, hoping it would give him a tactical advantage over Rayquaza.

However, it was not meant to be. "Fool. I am the master of the air! There is no illusion that you could conjure that could hide your true presence from me!" Flicking his tail, Rayquaza attacked with a powerful Twister, actually forming a giant tornado, sucking in all of the clones and Ash himself, rendering his misdirection technique a failure.

Ash howled in pain as the sharp winds cut into his sides, bruising him further and adding more pain to his accumulated wounds. Finally, the winds died down, and Ash was barely floating in the air. He snarled, clenching his claw in frustration.

"How pitiful," Rayquaza taunted, "To think Latias trusts you with her life..."

The Black Latios charged, firing off a volley of Aura Spheres and Luster Purges at every afterimage of Rayquaza, missing each time, destroying parts of the cloud field as explosions and flashes of light danced down below. He was tiring already, having used up so much energy and having been hit so many times already. Ash hadn't even hit Rayquaza once though!

The sky dragon didn't break a sweat, fading away again in the blink of an eye and showing up underneath Ash this time, his mouth already open as energy pooled for his next attack.

"You lose boy," Rayquaza said as he fired, his Dragon Pulse attack making direct contact with Ash's underside before he had time to react, blasting him up into the sky as the super-effective damage took its toll. Ash screamed in agony as the pain finally caught up with him, immobilizing his limbs. He desperately tried to regain control, but at the top of his arc, Rayquaza appeared again, mercilessly smashing his Dragon Claw right into him, sending him careening down towards the unforgiving gray field. He connected with the solid clouds with a boom creating a crater three times as wide as a snorlax.

"ASH!" Latias screamed as she immediately flew over to Ash's unmoving body, seeing how battered and beaten up he was. "C'mon. Get up Ash!" He didn't respond, and Latias could feel tears well up in her eyes. It was her fault Ash had gotten hurt. She had asked him to do it. "Please...just get up Ash. You have to." He didn't answer, and then she really began to cry in earnest. It was all her fault.

"Hmmph. What a sad fight. I really did expect a bit more from him seeing as you picked him yourself Latias," Rayquaza said, bored, "Well, that's that. A deal is a deal. Come along Latias." He grabbed her left claw, slowly dragging her away from her fallen trainer, but she protested the entire time, yelling and screaming for Rayquaza to let her go. "The boy knew what he was getting himself into. It is his fault for being so foolish."

"Rayquaza!" Latias screamed in anger, feeling the guilt consume her. She slashed her claws against Rayquaza's hard scales, not even inflicting a small smudge mark.

"It is clear who won Latias. He doesn't have the power to protect you. I do," the sky dragon stated simply.

"I don't want to be protected!" she yelled, redoubling her efforts to escape the green dragon's iron grasp.

"What do you see in him!?" Rayquaza roared, turning around to face the female dragon, "He's nothing but a pitiful, human being! He doesn't deserve you at all!"

"I...I know I don't..." a weak voice suddenly croaked, causing Rayquaza to release his hold on Latias out of shock. He looked up to find his opponent still up, albeit barely.

"ASH!" Latias yelled, flying immediately to his side, only to be stopped by his claws. He shook his head. This was his battle.

"I know...I know I'm nothing but a human who has somehow been granted some power. I don't have a single clue as to why that is, but it doesn't matter," Ash ground out as he raised his head proudly. His body was battered and nearly broken, but the spirit in his eyes were as resolute as ever. "I've said it before...I won't let you take away my friend! So I will defeat you! I won't have Latias crying over me!"

"You brat!" Rayquaza screeched, speeding towards Ash again, swiping his claws to find that Ash was no longer where he was a second ago. In fact, he wasn't anywhere. "Hmph! So you've become invisible. Fool. I've told you once. I control the air, and I can feel exactly where you are!"

"Yeah I know," the Black Latios said as he dropped his invisibility, appearing a few yards away from Rayquaza.

"Then you must know you still have no chance up here. This is my realm, my battle arena. No pokemon can defeat me up here, especially a pokemon as beat up as you," Rayquaza said confidently, prepping himself to charge again.

The Black Latios smirked. "That's why I'll make it my battlefield," Ash said, his eyes turning blue as his powerful psychic powers began to grab onto the clouds. He shook and broke them down as hard as he could, loosing the structure of the solid clouds. Suddenly, millions of dark gray particles of condensed water were thrown into the air, hovering in place and obscuring everything.

The battlefield had changed. Now there was no clear sky. It was all dark, gray mist. None of them could see beyond the nose on their face, at least not with their eyes. This was when Ash struck.

Using his aura, Ash could easily see through the environmental blindfold, identifying the green aura hiding in the clouds. Closing in, Ash smashed into the exposed backside of Rayquaza with his Dragon Claw, scoring his first successful and very effective hit.

The green dragon roared in anger as he felt the attack connect, sending pain through his body. The legendary dragon growled. Even though he controlled the air, all the rapidly moving particles in the air masked all movement. He couldn't tell where Ash was with any of his senses.

Ash doubled back again, striking Rayquaza in the face this time with an Aura Sphere attack, scattering even more of the clouds as the green dragon howled in pain.

"Clever boy," Rayquaza yelled, "But I'll not let this simple technique get the best of me!" Positioning his tail appropriately, the sky dragon prepared to fire off a Twister attack that would clear away at least half of the clouded battlefield, but he suddenly found a thick, blue chain wrapped around his tail and lower body, pinning his tail against his body, preventing him from using that attack. He tried to break it quickly, using both his powerful claws and jaw, but it was too strong. Rayquaza shook in rage as he thrashed around randomly, swiping at empty air as the concealed Black Latios continued to land hits on him.

It was Ash's battle now, and he fought with a savage ferocity, landing strike after strike on the unknowing dragon who was blindly trying to fight through the fog. Every second or so, Rayquaza would be pelted by Aura Sphere attacks or smashed with Dragon Claws, slowly whittling away his formidable constitution. The green dragon had tried to escape his trap using ExtremeSpeed, but somehow, Ash had shown up exactly where he had stopped, landing more clean hits to his face, abdomen and underbelly.

Rayquaza screeched as loudly as he could, firing off un-aimed bolts of electricity, columns of fire and beams of ice into the clouds, but nothing hit. He was simply greeted again with a powerful Dragon Claw attack to the face, knocking back.

"ENOUGH!" the sky dragon raged, turning his neck and firing a Hyper Beam attack at the chain binding his tail, breaking it. Immediately, he attacked with a Twister, blowing away all of the mist, clearing the skies again.

It was a fatal mistake, however. He looked up to find a sphere of light headed straight for him, lining up with the sun overhead, at blazing speeds, and before he could react, Ash's Luster Purge connected with his eyes, blinding him temporarily. He recovered just in time to see Ash, flanked by ten other clones closing in on him, their bodies covered in pink and yellow light.

The sky dragon's eyes bugged out in fear as he recognized the Giga Impact heading straight for him, and made to move away. However, he found more chains attached to his body, dragging him down and keeping him in place. When had those been there?

It was useless, however, and with a mighty shout, Ash slammed into Rayquaza, causing a tremendous explosion that threw the green dragon aside like a limp snake. The legendary dragon's body slid across the gray field of clouds, finally coming to rest a few hundred yards away from the contact point. With a final thud, the proud, sky dragon hit the floor, his eyes unknowing as his body gave up. Rayquaza had fainted. Silence reigned for a coupe tense seconds.

"I...I did it," Ash breathed out laboriously as he slowly floated over to Rayquaza's unmoving body to confirm that he had knocked him out. With a couple of pokes, Ash confirmed that his opponent was no longer conscious. He sighed, slumping down to the ground as fatigue began to overwhelm him.

"Ash!" Latias suddenly cried, slamming in the Black Latios who groaned.

"Latias...not so hard. Hurts..."

"You idiot! You big, giant, stupid idiot!" She was crying, and she nuzzled her trainer on the ground to make sure he was really alright. She felt so guilty. "You weren't supposed to get this hurt for me." He was bruised all over, sporting a few burns and scratch marks, and Ash was pretty sure he also had a few cracked ribs that would have to be checked at the pokemon center as soon as possible.

Ash chuckled lowly, patting Latias slowly with one of his claws. "Well it was worth it. We got the orb. And your voice as a bonus. I wonder how that will sound..."

Latias stared at Ash, wondering how she had come to meet such an extraordinary man, and she burst out into another round of fresh tears, soaking Ash's coat. Lifting her face up to her trainer's, she smiled brilliantly. "Idiot..." she said again, suddenly thrusting her face forward, capturing Ash's lips with her own.

Yeah...Ash was an idiot, but he was her idiot.

* * *

(1) A lot of people keep commenting on the fact that Ash can so nonchalantly share a bed with Latias. Its easy enough to understand. He just thinks it normal to sleep with your pokemon.

Yahoo! This took me a total of four times to write, but I'm so glad that I did! There's not really much I can say here though. This is longest chapter I have ever written though, and lord it took ages.

**I did feel guilty about taking so long to update so this is un-beta-ed as of now. **

Anyways, we passed our two year mark a while ago, and I just want to thank everyone for their continued support. You all are such a blessing!

Thank you all so much for reading and please review!

-Mekon


	28. Ch27: Feelings on the Wind

******DISCLAIMER**

Ever try catching more than 250 pokemon in Generation One? You should try it!

_Summary: _After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

"_hello" = _aura

___thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

"_I...I did it," Ash breathed out laboriously as he slowly floated over to Rayquaza's unmoving body to confirm that he had knocked him out. With a couple of pokes, Ash confirmed that his opponent was no longer conscious. He sighed, slumping down to the ground as fatigue began to overwhelm him._

"_Ash!" Latias suddenly cried, slamming in the Black Latios who groaned._

"_Latias...not so hard. Hurts..."_

"_You idiot! You big, giant, stupid idiot!" She was crying, and she nuzzled her trainer on the ground to make sure he was really alright. She felt so guilty. "You weren't supposed to get this hurt for me." He was bruised all over, sporting a few burns and scratch marks, and Ash was pretty sure he also had a few cracked ribs that would have to be checked at the pokemon center as soon as possible._

_Ash chuckled lowly, patting Latias slowly with one of his claws. "Well it was worth it. We got the orb. And your voice as a bonus. I wonder how that will sound..."_

_Latias stared at Ash, wondering how she had come to meet such an extraordinary man, and she burst out into another round of fresh tears, soaking Ash's coat. Lifting her face up to her trainer's, she smiled brilliantly. "Idiot..." she said again, suddenly thrusting her face forward, capturing Ash's lips with her own. _

_Yeah...Ash was an idiot, but he was her idiot._

* * *

Ch27: Feelings on the Wind

Latias was kissing him. **Latias** **was** **kissing him**.

It had all happened so suddenly, and Ash didn't even have a clue as to why it happened or how it happened.

Without warning, Latias had descended upon him, pressing her soft lips against his, fueled by a feeling he could neither identify or place but could definitely feel. He could tell that it was very strong and somehow...very hot, and this warmth invaded his senses and numbed everything his body felt, flooding him with more foreign feelings and unusual stirrings.

However, only a single thought ran through his mind, as if his brain had simply broken and was playing on a loop. There was no abject disgust, no dirty thoughts, no internal questioning, and no change. It was just the same line over and over again: 'Latias is kissing me!'

It was only after Latias had finally pulled away that Ash's mind actually registered the reality of what had happened. Latias, of all the possibilities, had kissed him; it hadn't been a simple peck on the cheek kiss either. It had been a full-on lip-to-lip kiss, his first real one.

Ash Ketchum, a boy with little to no talent with women, according to his views, had just been kissed. He was stunned, absolutely and positively stunned speechless and similarly rendered breathless. There was just no way for him to comprehend what had happened. Latias had kissed him, and when the scene replayed itself in Ash's mind, he felt his face explode with the most intense blush he had ever felt, taking up about ninety-five percent of his entire body's worth of blood. It made him feel both vulnerable and very, very happy, though he was so embarrassed that he simply stared at the ground.

Latias wasn't faring that well either. While she had initiated the kiss with the purest of intentions, meant to only be a congratulatory and gracious kiss, the unintended and unexpected passion and intensity that had followed set her blood on fire and muddled her senses. She had meant it to be chaste, but it had felt like anything but that. She gulped at the idea of their affections escalating to a higher scale in the possible future, and the conjectured image itself had steam come streaming out of her face as she quickly rushed to shield her red face with her claws.

Then, a horrible possibility hit her. What if Ash took offense? What if he was absolutely disgusted with her? What if he hadn't felt any of the passion she had? Just the idea itself, the idea of Ash hating her, terrified her, and the female dragon shivered. If Ash hated her, she would be shattered.

A quiet, awkward and tense moment passed between the two dragons, each lost in their own thoughts, worries and questions, both afraid of making the first move.

What was Ash even supposed to say? What was Latias supposed to say? "Thanks."? "You're welcome."? There was so much in that one little kiss, yet neither of them knew how to approach it now that it was done.

"Shesh! Can you two just get a roost already? This atmosphere is killing me..." a tired and sore voice suddenly groaned, causing Latias to squeak and Ash to splutter as they rocketed away from each other, turning to find a scratched and worn Rayquaza laying there, wide awake, on the last layers of the cloud-floor, "Honestly..." Groaning, the green dragon dredged himself into a more suitable and respectable position, disregarding the two awkward dragons.

"R...RAY! How long were you there?" Latias shrieked, waving her claws desperately, hoping that he hadn't been a witness to her spontaneous kiss.

"Long enough," he grunted summarily, looking away as a small blush appeared, telling Latias everything she needed to know. Folding his arms, he was a bit grouchy that he had been defeated in his own domain and in front of Latias, no less. Still, the legendary sky dragon acknowledged, albeit silently, that perhaps Ash did possess a modicum of skill, just enough to be satisfiable to his expectations of Arceus' Champion but more importantly, Latias' trainer. "Anyways..." Rayquaza continued, turning his gaze to Ash while trying to limit his scowling, trying to look, at least, a bit mature, "I guess you won..."

"Um..." Ash answered, trying to figure out the best way to appropriately approach the situation. Normally, he would rejoice in his victory and ask for his reward, but at this moment, he was pretty sure that wouldn't make Rayquaza too happy. Plus, instinctively, the Black Latios could tell that the legendary sky dragon was far from fully defeated. He had, after all, only managed to make the sky dragon faint for a few brief moments. The last thing he wanted was to give Rayquaza a reason to continue the battle. "I guess so..."

"No need to be so modest now Ash Ketchum," Rayquaza growled, leveling himself to face the young dragon who had defeated him, "You won fair and square through your own skill and wit. Even if my moment of incapacitation was brief, a loss is a loss. You won the bet. Now come."

Without another word, the green dragon led them back to his cloud castle, re-entering the main room at the top. Once inside, Rayquaza pulled the light lavender orb out from the cloud barrier where it had resided in secret. Out in the open, its power radiated magnificently, and every one of them there could feel it in the air.

"As promised, the Flying Aura Orb is yours," he said, floating it over into Ash's claws with a simple flick of his claw, "Care for it well."

"Thank you...and I will," Ash promised as he received the artifact, smiling as a friendly and warm feeling overcame him as the orb resonated with his aura and the orb he already possessed, like two old friends greeting each other after a long time apart. With a quick flash of lilac light, the orb disappeared as the singular dot on Ash's chest glowed momentarily. At that moment, The Black Latios felt hope; they had finally found another orb. There was still a chance for everyone and everything.

Ash couldn't help but sigh in relief, though only slightly; cracked ribs make breathing rather painful unfortunately, and he didn't want to aggravate his injuries further.

"Well...that is one down..." Rayquaza muttered uncomfortably, turning now to his friend and wishful mate. He sighed as he saw the unmistakable love in her eyes, the undeniable and absolute passion hiding there. However, they weren't for him and never would be. "Latias...are you prepared?"

"Is it really possible Ray?" Latias asked, her voice hopeful but also fearful, "Can you really help me speak like a real human?" The sky dragon flinched at the eagerness in her voice, an eagerness fueled by her feelings for Ash. His heart was broken, but he was resolved. This was for Latias. This was for the pokemon he loved.

"Yes," he answered truthfully, gesturing her to come closer, "This will only take a moment..."

Closing his eyes, the legendary sky dragon gathered his power and authority as the emperor of the sky, calling upon the ancient currents of wind, old servants who came and went, ever loyal to their master. Snapping his eyes open, a sudden deluge of churning mist converged on Latias and Rayquaza, separating Ash from their ritual. The Black Latios braced himself and shielded his eyes against the scratching and unstoppable winds that ran around him, hoping for the best.

Inside of the small vortex, it was almost perfectly still, only the gale of a soft breeze encircled the area, caressing Latias' cheek, tinged with sorrow. The winds around her were crying, but they held a spark of understanding and happiness. The red eon dragon only had to look into Rayquaza's eyes to understand; her eyes often made the same expression.

"I'm sorry Ray," Latias whispered, tears pooling in her eyes, knowing that her friend was hurting. The green dragon had done so much to help her, supporting her after Ash had left and her brother had passed, teaching her how to survive and be strong again and just helping her with everything he could. But she didn't love him. "But...you're my best friend. I'm sorry. But I want you to know that there is always a special place for you in my heart."

"I know...And I apologize as well. I should not have questioned your choice..." Rayquaza said as he bowed down to face his best friend, trying his best to keep his royal composure, but it is hard, if not impossible, to keep one's face straight in the face of heartbreak. "I let jealousy and anger cloud my judgment...I...I..." It burned, burned more than any attack he had ever felt and was worse still. It was acute, destabilizing and absolute in its power, a feeling only love, unrequited, can incite. He wanted to roar into the heavens out of anguish, but still, he smiled through his escaping tears, wanting Latias to see him with a smile at least; he truly loved her.

Latias cried as well out of pity, kindness and understanding, moving closer to place her claw softly on the larger dragon's face. It hurt to know that she was the cause of his pain.

"Does...does he make you happy? Is he everything you ever wanted? Does he treat you well?" Rayquaza croaked as he failed to keep himself unfeeling. There was too much there for him to just throw it away.

"Yes," she answered resolutely, looking into the yellow, tear-stained eyes of her friend, "Ash is that and more to me." The green dragon felt his heart constrict in his chest again, wondering what it would be like to hear those words with his name replacing "Ash".

However, Rayquaza was resolute. He would not falter, and he would not make Latias unhappy. This was his love.

"Good...If...If anything...anything happens to you because of him..." the sky dragon began, clenching his claws tightly, promising pain and punishment.

Latias giggled, patting Ray's head in understanding and thankfulness. "I know. If that ever happens, I'll make sure to hand him over to you first. Though that's assuming he survives what I put him through."

Rayquaza chuckled, giving himself a few moments to compose himself. "Thank you Latias...for everything," he finished, pulling away from his first love, wiping away his face with a stray gust of wind, giving her a real smile as he closed his eyes again, imagining Latias' voice. She deserved the best voice, a voice of honey and jasmine, soothing and calm.

He wanted her voice to be a legend among the humans below, a voice fitting only for a goddess and for a beautiful pokemon such as her. Smoother than silk. Sweeter than ambrosia. Light, but full of substance, life and meaning. It wouldn't be too high, nor too low. It would flow like the air itself, melodious and dulcet.

He began.

_On the ancient wings of flight_

_Where the mixture of light meets,_

_Where wind hums in the dark of night_

_and walks through the cobbled streets,_

_Black and Red, golden bells of love_

_Ring and sing and declare to the above._

_Hear the hearts that beat in the wind._

Suddenly, the wind began to pick up around Latias, wrapping her in a veil of magical winds. Inside, the red eon smiled at Ray, her thanks a whisper among the supernatural whirlwind.

Then, the wind died away. "It is done," Rayquaza said with a smile, nodding to Latias, "I hope you like it."

Latias had to test it out, shifting into her human form. She paused as she looked down to her human hands, touching her throat for a moment and opening her mouth. The ability to actually speak was foreign; formulating human words in one's mind was not the same as actually speaking them. It took her a few minutes, but finally something came out.

"I...I...I can...talk," Latias struggled, her eyes widening as she felt her own throat move along with her spoken words, "I CAN TALK!" Her new voice came to her ears again, strong and real, and it only confirmed everything.

Rayquaza was momentarily stunned, appreciating the soft and lovely voice that issued from Latias' human form. He had done much better than he had expected.

"You sound lovely," he complimented, "Do you like it?"

"YES!" Latias cheered, wrapping her small frame around the Rayquaza's face in a hug, "Thank you so much Ray! You have no idea how much this means to me."

"You are very welcome. Come to me if you ever need help okay Latias?"

"Of course."

With that, Rayquaza was satisfied, and he dropped the wind veil, revealing the new Latias to Ash who saw that she was now in her human form.

"Latias?" Ash asked, not sure what had happened, blushing as he looked upon her human form again, nearly forgetting how beautiful she really was in both forms, "Can you...?"

"Yes," she whispered, actually whispered, running up to hug her trainer and embracing him, "I can talk now! Just like a real human! And it's all thanks to you and Ray.

Ash flushed again, reminded of the fact that he had kissed the girl in his arms. Her voice was heavenly, and it suited her perfectly, soft, smooth and sweet, but what he could hear the most was that she was happy.

And as she began to speak again, the Black Latios couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss her again as a human.

* * *

_Down on the ground_

"Where in the world did those two go!" Misty screeched for the twentieth or so time that day, "It's already way past lunchtime! Ash wouldn't miss lunch for anything!"

"Bet he'd miss it for Latias," Brock joked, earning a hard glare from the irritated red-head who did not need the extra agitation, "Kidding! Kidding!" The red head growled as she sat down violently at a nearby picnic table overlooking the sea on the outskirts of the town. Everyone else in their group, pokemon included, had gone out to search for Ash all over the island. Right now it was just her and Brock. "Does it really bother you that much Misty?"

"NO! Of course not!" the fiery red-head denied as vehemently as possible, looking away, "It doesn't bother one bit. Why would it? Do you expect me to be jealous? Because I'm not!"

Brock sighed; Misty was as transparent as a shiny ditto placed underneath a spotlight on a glass pane.

"Why don't you just tell him if it bothers you so much?" Brock asked bravely, ignoring the danger signs, namely Misty reaching for her secret pocket where she held her mallet of death, "You should know how Ash is by now. He's probably the densest person in the entire world when it comes to feelings."

"Feelings! Who said anything about my feelings for Ash or anything like that?" Misty replied heatedly, her composure slipping dramatically, "You're really starting to get on my nerves Brock! Let's just keep looking around for Ash."

Brock sighed, shaking his head. "You know the more you deny it and the more you ignore it, the less chance you have with actually succeeding. He's not psy...He's not emotionally aware. The more you keep quiet about this, the higher chance you have of never getting anywhere at all! How bad could it be to just talk to him about..."

"It's not that simple!" Misty lashed out suddenly, her face an angry mess bordering on tears, "You don't get it Brock! You can talk about love all you want, but have you ever really been in it? Have you ever really spent time with a person and learn to just know everything about them and adore them for it? No!"

Brock flinched at that, knowing it was somewhat true. Though he felt that it was a bit of a low blow. However, he kept calm, however, knowing Misty was just angry and confused; it still hurt though.

"I'm just trying to help Misty. It hurts me to see you like this, always gloomy and grouchy. That's just not you. You have to do something or else it will just get worse!"

"And what? Let's just say, theoretically, I liked Ash or something crazy stupid like that. What can I do!?" Misty began to rant, pacing rapidly while scratching her head in frustration, "He's my best friend! What happens if he doesn't feel the same way! There's so much to mess up here! Do you have any idea just how scary the idea that our friendship could end or become awkward is!?"

Brock was a bit speechless, unable to really come up with a solid response to Misty's worries.

"And besides..." Misty continued, her voice noticeably lower and meeker, "He's got Latias..." She pulled her arms closer, trying to comfort herself, "It's not like I haven't noticed...She's all he talks about."

"That wouldn't have stopped you..." Brock muttered, knowing just how stubborn and aggressive Misty could be, "There has to be something else that is bothering you."

Misty stopped, staring down at the ground and closing her eyes tightly, not wanting Brock to see her in such a weak state.

"I feel like...like I'm losing my place as his best friend..." she whispered fearfully, clutching her sides tightly, "It's almost like he doesn't notice me anymore..."

"Misty...Ash could never forget you. You're a pretty hard person to forget honestly," he responded with a chuckle, "If you told Ash that you felt that way, he would be on his knees begging you to forgive him. You should know, better than anyone, just how important friends are to him."

"I do know that," Misty answered, "That's why I feel so guilty and grouchy all the time now! I know I shouldn't be feeling this way, this overwhelming feeling in my chest that I get every time I see him and..."

"Misty. Being jealous is natural," Brock comforted knowingly, "If anything, it validates your feelings. All you need now is to be assertive. Have some confidence... well really, just be you. You're normally confident anyway." Misty glared, unamused, though it was meant in jest. "And like I said, you'll never get anywhere by being silent, especially with Ash...I swear...the only way he'd notice a girl's feelings would be if someone went straight up to him and kissed him smack dab on the lips!...hmmmm... Maybe you should try that approach Misty."

The water pokemon trainer blushed and spluttered as an image of herself doing such an audacious thing appeared in her mind, and immediately she began smacking Brock with her mallet for making her imagine such a scene.

"Let's just keep looking for Ash while we can," the red-head muttered while dragging Brock away and touching her lips lightly as a small smile appeared on her determined face. Looking up into the sky, she frowned, noticing the wind picking up and the clouds graying. There was a storm coming.

* * *

_Meanwhile on another part of the island_

Pikachu was smirking, a mischievous kind of smirk. Strutting along a simple dirt path on the outskirts of town, he hummed to himself innocently as he waltzed in front of Riolu and Kirlia, snicking to himself as he looked back to his next-favorite couple-in-denial. They were supposed to be searching for Ash, but the electric-mouse pokemon was pretty sure his trainer was alright, especially since Latias was probably with him, given that they were both missing.

This gave him a perfect opportunity to mess with Riolu and Kirlia.

"Hmm...no sign of Ash anywhere," Pikachu lamented theatrically as Riolu and Kirlia caught up with him, looking up into the sky, "Where could that idiot be?" From his senses, the electric pokemon could feel the oncoming thunderstorm as the air around him cackled lightly against his fur. There was about an hour or so left until it would hit.

"No idea. Latias is missing too," Kirlia added nervously as she worried for her friends, "I mean I'm sure they can take care of themselves, but Ash is just so..."

"...so Ash?" Riolu supplemented, chuckling.

"Exactly! Knowing him and the stories we've been told, he's probably gotten himself mixed up in some strange incident again having to do with some random legendary pokemon, and only Arceus knows what," the emotion pokemon said, wondering how one boy could attract so much attention.

"Hmm well, he's hopefully got Latias with him. He should be just fine...maybe," Riolu said, his voice not the most confident, "If he's been abducted or something, I'm sure Latias would save him somehow."

"How do you know she wasn't the one who abducted him?" Pikachu interjected innocently with a smirk as he stalked into the nearby underbrush, grinning as he noticed the blush overtaking both of his charges' faces.

"Pi...Pikachu! Don't say things like that!" Kirlia squeaked, covering her face and trying to get the implications out of her head.

"Well, maybe it's not an abduction," the electric-mouse continued, speaking over the flora and fauna and walking further and further into the underbrush, his form becoming more and more obscure as they walked through the dense jungle, "Maybe they eloped to make their love roost?"

Kirlia froze, and Riolu nearly tripped onto his face as he did a second take, his foot getting caught on a root.

"PIKACHU!" Riolu barked, his face completely red, "Can you just stop talking about that sort of stuff?! It's awkward and embarrassing!"

"Oh? Why's that Riolu?" Pikachu asked, his voice fainter and even further away now, "It can't be that you think about that sort of stuff already Riolu! Oo...I wonder who the lucky pokemon is. Maybe it's someone I know."

"W..w...WHAT!?" the emanation pokemon yelled, his voice cracking as his eyes began to flit nervously around. He looked down to Kirlia for support but stopped, a feeling of dread creeping into him as he met Kirlia's eyes. "Um...Kirlia?"

"Do...do you think about stuff like that?" Kirlia whispered, her voice trembling as she stared down at the ground, finding the floor suddenly interesting, not seeing Riolu's mouth drop straight to the floor.

"Um..er..uh..." the fighting-type stammered, trying his best to find a way out of this situation while also cursing Pikachu for putting him into the situation in the first place! He had done this on purpose! "Lets...lets just not talk about that okay?" He began to step forward, attempting to escape. Riolu had to get away from Kirlia right now, but unfortunately he hadn't said anything to placate her at all. In fact, his evasive answer only served to ignite her curiosity even more.

"Wait! So you do think about it!" the psychic-type accused, lurching forward and grabbing onto Riolu's retreating paw rather forcefully, causing the escaping pokemon to lose his balance and begin to fall backwards. With no way to recover, there was only one way for Riolu to go, and by reflex, he attempted to throw his paws out to minimized the damage...landing right on top of Kirlia.

"Ow..." she groaned, rubbing the back of her head, looking up to find her best friend looming straight over her in a rather, as she interpreted it, provocative position. Then all of a sudden, it hit her. She was alone in a secluded part of the forest where no one knew where they were...with Riolu. An explosive blush painted her face deep red as her heart beat began to race.

"You okay Kirlia?" Riolu groaned, feeling a bit dizzy after falling so fast.

"F...f...Fine!" the emotion pokemon breathed out shakily, frozen in place by the sudden closeness of Riolu pinning her quite literally in place. She turned her head to the side, unable to look at Riolu less she do something drastic. "You...you still didn't answer my question Riolu."

"Well...um...er..." Riolu stumbled, trying his hardest to keep his voice level and normal, but his proximity to Kirlia was destroying any composure he had left. He couldn't help it! He was a normal pokemon male, and here he was, lying on top of a very attractive and very alluring female whom he favored completely, and his senses and instincts were going haywire. This was not good...If this went on any longer...

"Are you two quite done yet?" a sudden, amused and somewhat scared voice asked, causing Riolu to rapidly jump off of Kirlia and land on his backside ungracefully. He turned to find Pikachu sitting there, his face a bit red and his expression a mixture of amusement and unfiltered bewilderment. The electric-type had no idea that leaving them alone for a couple of moments would lead to such a spicy outcome! He had just expected to find them cutely talking to each other like a nice pokemon couple would, but instead, he had walked onto a scene that made him feel like a voyeur! "Save some room for Arceus you two...shesh."

Predictably, the accused pokemon went into a flurry of denials, complete with stutterings, babblings, nervous fits and threats of gory, visceral violence should the electric-mouse even dare to spread a rumor around. Unfortunately, this was the reaction Pikachu had been waiting for, and all the threats and all of the pleading in the world wouldn't be enough to wipe away the smirk plastered on his face.

"Don't you two secret lovers worry your silly little heads," Pikachu teased as he lead them out of the brush as they continued to deny everything, "I won't mention it...too much."

With that, the electric-type swerved right with a well-timed quick attack, looking back to find a pikachu-sized, smoldering crater sitting where he used to be, a byproduct of Riolu's sudden Blaze Kick.

"Oh Uncle Pikachu! We would just love to have a quick spar. What do you think?" Riolu and Kirlia chimed together, their faces the absolute definition of death itself as unnatural smiles stretched across their faces.

"Ha! You know...I would love to...but...I think we should really keep looking for Ash!" Pikachu answered while dodging a few Thunderbolts and Aura Spheres, chuckling to himself as he slowly led them back home.

* * *

The far off thundering of the approaching storm echoed across the island as a light drizzle had began to fall on the small island of Shamouti, a veil of water which proceeded the monstrously strong and turbulent storm that apparently followed the moving Cloud Castle each and every year without fail. According to the village legend, the storm would bring about cleansing rains that would bless the island with safety from the ever violent tides and seas while bringing clarity and good fortune to the islanders.

Unfortunately for Brock and Misty, this seemed to be the opposite. Returning to their lodgings and taking refuge underneath the back patio, they had had no luck in finding Ash at all, and now, without an umbrella to cover them on their journey back, were soaked to the bone. Likewise, they came upon May, Max and Dawn who were just returning to the house empty handed, though considerably happier since Dawn had, in her ever prepared ideology, brought an umbrella big enough for May and herself while Max had walked around with a psychic shield to block out the rain, courtesy of his Ralts.

A few moments later, the sounds of scampering feet running through water approached, signaling the return of Pikachu's group who, much to May and Dawn's horror, simply shook the water off of themselves, spattering everyone else with stray bits of water.

"No luck?" May finally asked as she made for the door so Misty and Brock could get dry, fumbling with the keys a bit.

"No!" Misty growled, angry at the fact that she had gotten soaked looking for Ash and at the fact that she couldn't find any sigh of the elusive boy at all. "That idiot! Where is he? He's been gone since this morning! All of the villagers are already in their homes, preparing for the big storm. If he gets caught out there..."

"He'll figure something out Misty," Dawn consoled as she handed Misty a small cloth towel to help her dry a bit faster, "If there's anything we can count on, it's Ash. He'll be perfectly safe...somehow."

"Yeah," Max agreed as he bumped May out of the way for taking so long in opening the door, "Ash always does seem to get out of the worst possible situations in the craziest ways. He usually just pops up out of nowhere when you least expect it."

They all murmured in agreement, finally stepping into the house, away from the icy winds and pouring rain, emerging into the main living room.

They all stopped dead in their tracks as they discovered Ash and Latias sitting there at the small table in front of the television, happily eating dinner. Currently, they were feasting on a small but exquisitely crafted sushi platter that they had picked up at one of the stands before the light rains had set in while wondering why the entire house seemed empty.

"Uh...hey?" Ash said slowly and cautiously, his chopsticks hanging in midair as a fresh spider roll steamed at the end of it. The Black Latios could feel some powerful and intense gazes boring into his head, and he gulped as the feeling of "I messed up somehow." took root inside of him. Latias too was trying her best to act natural, dipping another piece of her dinner into the sauce dish pretending that they hadn't been missing all day.

And just like the oncoming storm, it finally hit.

"WHERE WERE YOU TWO!" all of the entering people and pokemon screeched, the combined sound of multiple people and pokemon and the perfectly time thunder actually knocking Ash back, causing him to drop his chopsticks and his sushi as a huge lightning bolt lit up the black sky, outlining his friends' figures just enough to make them look like phantasmal apparitions ready to kill.

Before Ash could respond properly, he was promptly bonked on the head by a rubber mallet, gripped violently by the shirt and shaken senseless.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG WE WERE OUT LOOKING FOR YOU?" Misty yelled, continually shaking him, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED WE WERE?"

"Worried? But..."

"YOU IDIOT! We've been through four or five attacks already over the course of a few weeks, probably even more! For all we know, you could have gotten abducted or worse..." she continued, her eyes tearing up a bit, "Did you even stop to think about what everyone else would think if you just randomly disappeared without telling anyone where you were going? Especially with what's going on now!?"

Everyone was absolutely silent, stunned speechless by Misty's emotional outburst. She usually did her best to hide any of her feelings. Even Ash was at a loss for words; Misty had always yelled at him before, but this was a different. He actually could tell she was legitimately upset at him, and Ash grimaced, noticing a wetness around his best friend's eyes, a liquid that didn't belong to the pouring rain. He sighed, wrapping his arms gingerly around his best friend in a careful hug, feeling the dampness of her clothes, knowing she had been drenched on his account.

"I'm sorry okay?" Ash conceded, "Something came up."

"Should have still told someone..." Misty muttered stubbornly after a few moments, holding onto Ash, taking a bit of guilty pleasure out of it and hiding her small tears at the same time.

"I know. I know...but at the time, I didn't even have a clue that we would be going anywhere in the first place. It sort of just happened! Honest!" Misty wasn't talking, so he continued, "And then there was this crazy Cloud Castle up in the sky, and Rayquaza was there and..."

"Wait? Rayquaza!?" Max exclaimed, remembering the large and extremely powerful, legendary dragon pokemon distinctly, "He was here?"

"Yeah. He had one of the orbs..." Ash answered, "I picked that one up by the way, so now we are one orb up!"

"Wait...He just handed it over to you like that?" Brock asked, his eyebrows raising in surprise. Though he was soaking wet, he found this much more interesting and important so he would wait a bit.

"Well not really...He sort of challenged me to a duel of sorts..."

"HUH?" all of them, except for Latias, gasped, unable to comprehend the idea of Ash fighting a legendary pokemon head to head.

"Are you serious?" Riolu questioned, his voice filled with respect and awe, "Rayquaza is one of the legendary triad heads. He's probably ranked like fifth in terms of power, age and influence!"

"Hmm I guess so..." The Black Latios said, shrugging and letting go of Misty who had finally calmed down, "It was a pretty tough battle...He almost beat me, and I just barely got him because of luck really." He grimaced as he remembered his fresh wounds. Nurse Joy had made a right out fuss over him when Latias had presented him to her, and he felt bad that Latias had gotten scolded too since Joy had assumed Latias to be the trainer. They hadn't even checked for identification since he had been so injured.

"Hmmph..." Misty grouched, pulling away from Ash, "Well at least you did something..." It was then when the red-head realized that she had just hugged Ash in front of everyone, and with practiced agility, she jumped away, hiding her face and refusing to face any of them. Freed, Ash stood up and rubbed his sore head, wishing his best friend wouldn't resort to physical retaliation so often.

"You alright Ash?" Latias asked softly, moving closer to her wounded trainer to examine the bruise, "Want me to get you some ice? I'd rather you not feel any more pain than you need to today. Nurse Joy would have a fit if she found out about another bruise..."

"I'm fine...thanks though Latias," Ash answered with an appreciative smile, "It'll get better in a second, and I told you not to worry about Nurse Joy. It wasn't your fault that I nearly broke my ribs..."

"But I'd still rather you not get hit so often, especially since you're already wounded..."

"Ehh..it's fine. I do need a good smack in the head every now and then to remind myself to not do stupid things...It's actually been a while since I've been hit with Misty's famous rubber mallet. I almost miss the feeling, "Ash chuckled, causing Latias to giggle.

They both ignored the gaping, completely dumbfounded faces that were directed their way. They had expected a reaction like this after all.

"Huh...that's weird," Brock said to no one in particular, "I must be going crazy...I must have imagined that Latias had somehow gained a real human voice that sounded like it belonged to an angel."

"Why thank you Brock," Latias replied, chuckling as she watched her friend's reactions elevate, "I quite like it myself. Ash helped me get it earlier today."

Ash and Latias both laughed at the various reactions that they were getting out of their friends, a volatile mixture of pure confusion, justified jealousy, unquenchable curiosity and above all, overwhelming awe. While they should have been somewhat used to pokemon learning how to speak like humans or at least communicating with the human language, there was a strange disconnect when Latias spoke. It was different, almost as if she had become more human herself rather than just learn to speak.

"I. Am. So. Jealous!" Brock yelled to the high heavens as he cried, grabbing Ash in desperation, "Whyyyy! Why can't I be as lucky as you? Tell me your secret Ash! What's your technique for attracting women! I'm handsome and smart and..."

"Alright...that's enough out of you," Max said, promptly grabbing the lamenting trainer's ear, pulling him away from Ash and reminding Brock that he needed to get out of his drenched clothes less he catch a cold. Ash was a bit startled by his friend's sudden reaction, though not completely surprised.

"Wow Ash," Dawn sighed, completely baffled, "You disappear for one afternoon, and you come back with one of the orbs after fighting a legendary pokemon that was living inside of a giant floating cloud castle in the sky. On top of that, Latias comes back with the ability to speak, really speak, in her human form!"

Ash didn't really know how to reply to that and simply rubbed his head in embarrassment. "Yeah...I suppose a lot happened. Right Latias?"

The female dragon who had previously been entertaining her pokemon friends with her new ability to speak turned to face her trainer. "Hmmm? What was that Ash?"

"I said a lot really happened in a short time. You know. I fought Rayquaza. We got an orb and your voice. Then you ki..." Ash began, but suddenly stopped as he remembered what had happened immediately after he had finished his battle, a crimson flush stretching across his face. He suddenly stopped talking, trying to distract himself by shoving the rest of his, now cold, sushi dinner into his mouth.

"Yeah...A lot really did happen..." Latias agreed quietly, knowing what Ash had almost finished saying. She couldn't help but grin, however, noticing the blush on her trainer's face, knowing that her kiss had done something.

The rest of the group looked back and forth between the two, curious and suspicious. There was something different about the two dragons, something in the way they looked at each other now, something in the way they spoke and interacted, a subtle softness and timidity. They couldn't quite place it yet, but they were determined to find out.

* * *

_Later that night_

Torrents of indecipherable murmurs rapped against the windowpane indiscriminately, water droplets conversing among themselves as they pooled together and slid down the smooth, transparent surface, barred from entry into the warm abode. A raspy screech whistled through the house, slipping through the small cracks and holes like a ghost phasing through a wall.

In the distant sky, beasts roared and battled, their cries reverberating powerfully against the cloudy walls of their cage, their sparking claws lighting up the pitch black sky with each clashing strike as the hours of the clock ticked further and further towards morning, but for now, the next day had already come, its first soldiers marching in seconds after midnight.

Ash was awake, wide awake, his eyes simply staring off into the darkness as he contemplated the many events of the day. Only now, in the welcoming shroud of silence under the cover of darkness, was he finally able to have a few moments to himself and really think about the amazing things that had occurred.

He had spent that last few hours going over, in extreme detail, though he excluded a particular scene, what he had actually experienced and the things he had seen up in the sky, suffering the censures of his friends. They continually reprimanded him for going alone and going without them during the entire memory projection which they had frequented with requests of stops, rewinds and pauses. He had no idea how exhausting it was to be a movie player.

But now, in the familiar hours of the late night, Ash's mind moved to the newest topic at hand and an issue that was quite literally sleeping right next to him in his bed, curled up cutely at his arm, innocently and lightly snoring away the turbulent night: Latias and her kiss.

Why did it bother him so much? Why did it cause such fiery feelings to pool in his chest and spread through his entire body? What about it confused him so? It was plain enough, a kiss, a simple connection of the lips, nothing more than that.

Or at least that was what he wished he could say. If Ash had been asked that morning if he thought anything about kisses, he would've answered with an embarrassed stutter while declaring he just wasn't interested in such things. However, he had been kissed on the cheek multiple times by Latias. Naturally, they were embarrassing, especially when given in public, but the small pecks he had received had never bothered him so much before. In fact, they had been rather pleasant, even Ash could admit that, but he hadn't thought too much about them afterward, simply dismissing them as a way Latias showed affection as a pokemon.

But this was something different, not only just the kiss itself, but also the way it was given, the power behind it and the mysterious heat that he had felt invade him.

Ash tried to recall the kiss, willing his memory to bring it to the forefront of his mind where he could analyze it properly. He would treat it like a pokemon battle and try to figure out what had really happened.

He watched carefully as Latias descended upon him from above, her eyes full, full of something he just couldn't identify, a foreign emotion that caused that burning and tingling in his gut, strong and persistent. The memory went on; he watched as Latias slowly closed in, crystalline tears fresh in her eyes.

What were those tears for? Who were those tears for? Herself or for him?

Were they tears shed for the fact that she could stay? Ash wouldn't have let her go in the first place.

Had she been sad? No. Latias had smiled at him and hugged him afterward.

However, these small questions couldn't compare to the biggest one of all, the one that ran endlessly in his head. Ash looked again, reliving his first real kiss, almost able to feel the actual softness of Latias' lips again and the tenderness behind the action. Why did Latias kiss him? Why did it make him so happy?

It was just lip contact. Where did all of that scorching heat come from? What was so special about a kiss?

Ash just didn't understand. This was out of his expertise, and he wanted nothing more than to simply discard the subject and get some rest. However, his own mental restlessness worked against him, and he decided to jump out of bed and grab a drink of water to clear his head, lightly pulling Latias' arm off of him and making sure she was still comfortable before walking off.

Strangely enough, Ash didn't feel disoriented in the utter darkness, almost able to make out the shapes of the walls around him and the doors that connected the hallways of the house, outlined in a faint glow. As he opened the door, however, he noticed light coming from further down the hall where the kitchen should be; someone else was still up.

Walking carefully on the wooden flooring as to not disturb anyone else sleeping, Ash walked into the already-lit room, surprised to find Misty sitting there at the table quietly, sipping a soda. She seemed to be in deep thought and didn't even notice Ash walking into the room until he sat down next to her, fresh glass of water in hand.

"Ah! Ash!" Misty exclaimed, nearly spitting out the soda she had in her mouth, barely able to hold it back. She flushed, feeling a bit foolish for not even noticing Ash entering the room.

"Couldn't sleep either Mist?" Ash asked cheerfully, drinking a bit of his water, listening to the pouring rain marching outside.

"Thunder kept me up..." she muttered into her soda, not wanting to look at Ash directly after her _graceful_ exhibition. However, the truth was, Misty was still bothered by what Brock had talked to her about earlier that day, and the fact remained that she was in love with the boy she was sitting right next to!

"I thought you loved storms or at least didn't mind them," Ash responded curiously, remembering how Misty had braved a similar storm near the very islands they were residing on.

"Anyways..." Misty quickly intervened, "What kept you up? You usually sleep like a rock on the bottom of the ocean underneath a snorlax." Ash chuckled, knowing just how true that statement was.

"I had a lot to think about," Ash answered vaguely, not wanting to spill all of the details.

"Ash, thinking? The world must be ending!" Misty mocked, though completely in jest, giggling afterward with Ash, "So what were you thinking about?"

The boy scratching his head out of habit, "It's kind of embarrassing really..."

"What? You forget to wear clean underwear again?" Misty teased, taking another shot at Ash, who actually glared. He had heard that plenty from his mother already. "Kidding. Kidding. So what's up?"

Ash fidgeted in his seat for a moment, debating on whether or not he should tell Misty what was on his mind or at least part of it. He didn't even know how to put his problem into words himself or describe it adequately. Regardless, he did want to talk to someone about it, and Misty was his best friend. He had to start somewhere.

"It's about Latias..." he admitted quietly, his voice softer than Misty had ever heard it. It surprised her and scared her at the same time. It was rare for Ash to actually open up for a talk.

"What about her?" Misty asked in a guarded tone, doing her best to hide her emotions and support Ash like a good friend.

"I don't know...I don't even understand it myself! It's just that I feel...weird when I'm around her sometimes," Ash attempted, doing his best to flesh out what was bothering him, "It's gotten stronger too recently...and I just don't know what it is." He refrained from mentioning the kiss problem, wanting to keep that a secret for as long as possible.

"I'm confused. Try and describe this feeling a bit more Ash," Misty continued bravely, her resolve cracking, knowing that this was something significant, especially since it was Ash.

"It don't know. Warm? Happy? She makes me smile I guess? Peaceful?" Ash rattled off, unaware of the growing worry on his oldest friend's face, "Does it mean something? I mean...all of my friends make me happy and smile, but this is just different somehow...Something about her is just different.

Misty was dead quiet, the burning in her chest increasing as she listened to Ash talk about Latias. It was there; she could hear it, see it even. His face, the emotions, those feelings. She knew them all too well, because she felt them same towards Ash. But it was impossible right? Ash was Ash. Dense. Clueless. Absolutely ignorant to love.

Her voice was tight now, higher in pitch, filled with a barely-concealed worry, but she pressed on...for Ash. "Ash..What...What do you think about Latias?"

"Huh? Um...Well, she's pretty amazing I guess. She's a powerful pokemon and really loves to help me. She gets on really well with Pikachu and the others, sometimes I forget that I've only had her for little more than a month or so."

Misty groaned, afraid it would come down to this, though she felt a bit of guilty happiness at the fact that Ash still saw Latias as a pokemon...or at least she thought so.

"But that's not what really makes her special though..." Ash continued, chuckling as he remembered something funny and memorable.

"What makes her special then?" the red-head asked quietly, fiddling her thumbs as she trudged on. This was for Ash, and she had to know or at least find out the truth for herself.

"Uh...I don't know. I don't really think about it too much," he said, racking his brains, "I guess she's special because Latias is Latias? If that makes any sense...That's the only way I can describe it. But I still don't get why it would make me feel so weird around her! Why do I want to protect her so much and make her happy? I feel like it's not only my job as a trainer but also as...as me. When I'm sad, one smile and laugh from her cheers me up. When I feel like I'm all alone, she always happens to be there to show me I'm not. When I'm about to fail, she's there cheering me on like I can't fail no matter how bad things are looking...I mean...All of my friends do that...but Latias is..."

"...Latias," Misty finished softly, finally understanding. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but it was clear, even if not to Ash himself. Ash was in love with Latias. "Ash...What do you think about Latias...as a girl?"

"Huh? Um...As a girl? Err...I guess she's really...nice? Fun?...beautiful maybe?" he hazarded with a brilliant blush, not really able to formulate anything deeper than that. However, it was enough.

Misty frowned slightly, having never heard Ash call any girl beautiful. Pretty maybe, but beautiful, never. It was becoming clearer and clearer to Misty just how far Ash's feelings ran despite his blindness to it.

"I want to ask you one last thing Ash..." she whispered fearfully, afraid of what would come from her next question.

"Go for it."

"What...what do you think about me?" Misty closed her eyes, scared, knowing that this was going to be everything.

"Huh?" Ash responded, befuddled by the sudden turn, "What do you mean?"

"Just...what do you think about me? When you see me, what runs through your mind?"

The boy sat, thinking and recalling everything he knew about the red-head sitting next to him, who she was deep down and who she was to him.

"When I see you, I smile. You're my best friend and my first real friend, and I know you'll always be there for me when I need it. We've been together for so long now. You're almost like the older sister I never had, and Brock is my older brother. We're a family," Ash answered confidently, grinning his fullest, unaware of the power of his last words.

Misty grimaced, looking away from Ash, feeling her heart crumble. His answer held so much and answered even more. Yes, she was family, but she was a sister, a caretaker, not a lover, not a wife, not a girlfriend. It hurt, the definitiveness in his voice, the absolute conviction he spoke with when he talked about her.

She cried inside, feeling everything collapse around her. Misty had felt like she had had little chance to begin with, but this was the last nail in the coffin. However, she knew it wasn't Ash's fault, and now she blamed herself for not acting. Brock had been right. It was too late.

He had already honored her by calling her family, and to Ash, friends and family were everything. But still, it hurt and stung and burned. Her heart felt like it had been torn in two, put through a grinder, pounded down and scattered to the four winds. Years of love, adoration, secret laughs and happy memories were there, laying among the ruins of her heart.

"Misty? Are you okay?" Ash asked worriedly, hearing Misty sniffle a bit," Um...If I made you mad or anything..."

"You idiot..." Misty sighed, wiping away her birthing tears and putting on a big fake smile, "I'm fine. Just some dust in my eyes..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah..." she muttered, "I'm fine...I think we should get some sleep. I'm sure everything will sort itself out if you sleep on it Ash. You'll figure it out eventually." Misty feigned a yawn, extending her arms similarly to make it look more realistic.

"Maybe you're right," Ash agreed, standing up and placing his glass back on the counter top, "Thanks Misty. I really needed to talk to someone. Sweet dreams Misty. I'll see you in the morning."

"Sweet dreams Ash...sweet dreams..." Misty replied with a small wave, wiping a few more tears from her face after Ash exited, "You big idiot..."

With that, Misty crawled into bed, her tears slowly staining the cover of her pillow, cradling her broken heart, hoping that her dreams would offer her a safe haven where she could find happiness...even if for just one night...

* * *

Oh my goodness! I'm finally back! I know I haven't been around for ages! (Many many many months) I've been occupied with my final last few months of high school. I had to keep up grades. (Worth it! I made it to Valedictorian! ^.^) And I just felt so guilty for the last few months for not doing anything here that I sort of disappeared. Sorry about that everyone!

Now that summer is around though, I'm going to keep updating like crazy, because god knows when I'll be able to I college!

Anyways. Quite of bit of feelings thrown around in this chapter. Poor Misty.

We'll be heading out to the next orb and location soon!

Thank you for reading and please review!

-Mekon

_**P.S**_

_**My beta, Tanon, had to quit due to entering college. So at this moment, I am without a beta. If anyone wants to beta for me, just send me a message and some qualifications. **_


	29. Ch28: New Island, New Insights

******DISCLAIMER**

Use Metronome. Get Sketch?

_Summary: _After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

"_hello"_aura

___thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

"_When I see you, I smile. You're my best friend and my first real friend, and I know you'll always be there for me when I need it. We've been together for so long now. You're almost like the older sister I never had, and Brock is my older brother. We're a family," Ash answered confidently, grinning his fullest, unaware of the power of his last words. _

_Misty grimaced, looking away from Ash, feeling her heart crumble. His answer held so much and answered even more. Yes, she was family, but she was a sister, a caretaker, not a lover, not a wife, not a girlfriend. It hurt, the definitiveness in his voice, the absolute conviction he spoke with when he talked about her. _

_She cried inside, feeling everything collapse around her. Misty had felt like she'd had little chance to begin with, but this was the last nail in the coffin. However, she knew it wasn't Ash's fault, and now she blamed herself for not acting. Brock had been right. It was too late. _

_He had already honored her by calling her family, and to Ash, friends and family were everything. But still, it hurt and stung and burned. Her heart felt like it had been torn in two, put through a grinder, pounded down and scattered to the four winds. Years of love, adoration, secret laughs and happy memories were there, lying among the ruins of her heart. _

"_Misty? Are you okay?" Ash asked worriedly, hearing Misty sniffle a bit, "Um...If I made you mad or anything..."_

"_You idiot..." Misty sighed, wiping away her birthing tears and putting on a big fake smile, "I'm fine. Just some dust in my eyes..." _

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Yeah..." she muttered, "I'm fine...I think we should get some sleep. I'm sure everything will sort itself out if you sleep on it Ash. You'll figure it out eventually." Misty feigned a yawn, extending her arms similarly to make it look more realistic. _

"_Maybe you're right," Ash agreed, standing up and placing his glass back on the counter top, "Thanks Misty. I really needed to talk to someone. Sweet dreams. I'll see you in the morning." _

"_Sweet dreams Ash...sweet dreams..." Misty replied with a small wave, wiping a few more tears from her face after Ash exited, "You big idiot..." _

_With that, Misty crawled into bed, her tears slowly staining the cover of her pillow, cradling her broken heart, hoping that her dreams would offer her a safe haven where she could find happiness...even if for just one night..._

* * *

Ch28: New Island, New Insights

The storm passed. Dulled gray faded into brilliant blue, the thick clouds drifting into crystal mist over the island of Shamouti as the Cloud Castle Festival came to a close. The sounds of islanders emerging into the sorely-missed sunlight filled the air as they rejoiced at the safe passing of another blessed year.

Ash and his friends were up, eating their breakfast in relative peace, watching as the sun slowly rose, the ocean sunrise greeting the island again, and discussing their next plan and destination, reminded of the fact that they were on a mission to save sunrises just like this. It was a comfort to them though; there were still people out there who were safe and happy.

"So any idea where the next location is, Ash?" Brock asked as he picked up the dirty plates for cleaning, "It's best if we head out now since the weather's finally cleared up."

"I'm not exactly sure where, but the feeling I get from my Aura points me north-west-ish. The orb that is responding is possibly somewhere in Hoenn or Jhoto. The signal isn't strong enough for it to be in Kanto," Ash answered confidently, "Hopefully it's not that far away."

"Hoenn? Jhoto?" Dawn asked excitedly, having intended to journey there next after her Sinnoh adventure, "That's perfect! I'll finally be able to see what it's like there and check out new pokemon too!"

"It'll take us a while to get to Jhoto, even more-so for Hoenn," May commented, knowing just how long it had taken her to find her way to Kanto, "We need to leave soon like Brock said. Hopefully, it's in Jhoto."

"Alright. We should fuel up here and then probably make a stop somewhere in Kanto to resupply. Possibly Pewter, but preferably Cerulean since they usually have better stocks and selections for supplies, and they are the cities that are the furthest west in Kanto," Brock added thoughtfully, a sneaky smile on his face as he remembered three certain sisters who were incidentally still single and rather attractive. Suddenly, he found a rubber mallet connecting with his head, sending him face-first into the dirt.

"Don't even think about it," Misty growled, already a bit grouchy given last night's events, "If we're stopping in Cerulean, we're not going for a visit. We have important things to do." She was adamant about it, knowing that visiting her sisters would mean teasing, and teasing would mean talking about Ash... "We have a job to do here, Brock. We don't have time, especially since you just want to check out my sisters!" The eldest trainer surrendered, holding up his hands and chuckling slightly, not wanting to incur any more of the redhead's wrath.

Ash laughed, recalling Lily's, Daisy's and Violet's lackadaisical ways, especially when it came to the gym and pokemon battles. Luckily, Daisy had gotten a little bit better with actually battling trainers for the Cascade Badge instead of just giving it away, but Misty was still worried. She didn't quite trust Daisy to battle EVERY challenger, and Violet and Lily were still doing their own thing; they had offered to sub as the gym leader every now and then in her absence, but even so, Misty was pretty sure there were some lucky trainers out there who had gotten their badges with a free pass.

"Well then. No time like the present," May cheered eagerly, pumped by their latest success, "Let's get a move on!"

* * *

"Leaving so soon already?" Melody asked sadly as she stood at the end of the pier, intending to see Ash and his friends off, "You just got here, too...Don't you think you'd like to stay one more day? The villagers don't mind at all."

"Sorry Melody," Ash apologized as graciously as he could, a sad smile on his face, "We have some really important things to do on the mainland. We would stay if we could." He felt kind of bad, knowing that Melody had really had no time to hang out with them or catch up.

She sighed, "It's just as well...You always do seem to have something you need to do...Well, when you come back, make sure to pay me a visit, okay?"

"Sure thing!" Ash answered, giving her a thumbs up as he released Charizard, Staraptor and Pidgeot, "See ya later, Melody."

"Wait..." the festival maiden interrupted, confused, as she noticed there was no boat present at the harbor, "You're going to fly to the mainland? You don't have enough pokemon for that. Unless some pokemon will be going by sea...but it's a bit dangerous to do that right now since the storm just passed and all." She was referring to Misty's pokemon, but Ash just shook his head, a wide smile on his face.

"Don't worry. We got plenty of pokemon. You guys ready to go?" Ash asked over his shoulder and was answered by a universal "yes". Brock climbed onto Charizard, greeting his old friend with a pat. Max and May hopped onto Pidgeot, raring to go, while Dawn began to move towards Staraptor, only to be suddenly stopped by Misty.

"Hey Dawn...can I ride on Staraptor this time around? I'm curious," she excused herself, but the Sinnoh coordinator could tell by the ice in her voice that something had happened. Normally, Misty was meant to ride on Ash, but Dawn didn't want to pry in the presence of certain ears and simply nodded.

"Hey Ash! I'm with you this time," Dawn called out as she lightly squeezed Misty's hand in reassurance and support.

"Alright. That's fine," he said, not even wondering why the arrangements had changed. Seeing that all three of his pokemon were saddled up and ready to go, Ash knew it was time.

"I still don't see enough pokemon here...unless you have some new invisible pokemon or something..." Melody voiced again, confused. Ash answered her with a smirk and wink as, in tandem with Latias, his body began to shift and change in a burst of blue light. Opening her eyes, the islander found two dragons, one red and one black, floating just above the worn wood of the pier, motioning for their charges to climb aboard. Latias took all of the small pokemon on her back, while Ash let Dawn hop on.

'Bye Melody! See ya around,' Ash said with a chuckle and wave, turning to follow his group into the sky, bound northward, leaving Melody there to process what had just happened.

After a few moments, her waving stopped, and she just shook her head in disbelief. "That Ash..."

* * *

_Half a day northward_

They had been flying for a few hours now, the golden sun dipping just past the midpoint of the cloudless sky. While none of his pokemon truly needed it, Ash considered the fact that they needed lunch and, looking down at the endless sea below, noticed a small island of green hiding among the watery waves of blue.

"Hey, guys!" Ash called to his pokemon over the rushing wind, "Let's make a stop for lunch. I'm starving. There's an island down there where we can stop." His pokemon laughed, knowing Ash couldn't go without meals, but they too agreed. Resting and fueling up at regular intervals was a very smart idea. Besides, they didn't have to rush at this speed, considering they had already covered half of the required distance to reach the mainland. By tomorrow or possibly tonight, they would hit land. Flying was just so much faster than taking a boat.

Gliding on for a few more minutes, the five flying pokemon began their descent towards the lone island, noticing how barren it seemed to be. Upon approach, Ash saw that there were no trees sprouting from the ground, no bushes and no other signs of life but a giant rolling plain of grass. The only distinct feature that stood out was the lone mountain overshadowing one side of the island, covered in the same grass that dominated the surface.

It was, in a sense, spooky and uncomfortably familiar to Ash for some strange reason he couldn't pinpoint. Upon landing at the base of the mountain, while the rest of the group set up camp, he stared at the large monument before him, transfixed. When he gazed at the towering rock pile, feelings of anger, sadness, fear...and darkness?...filled his heart, making him shudder. Chills, unbidden, crawled down his spine as his body shook in remembrance.

But...in remembrance of what?"

"Hey Ash! You going to eat your lunch or what?" Brock called, pulling him out of his trance, "You've been staring at that mountain for a good twenty minutes or so. You alright?" Ash shook himself, lightly slapping the sides of his cheeks to refocus.

"Fine...just feeling a bit...well, weird," he answered as he trudged to the campsite, taking his portion happily, "Probably just tired..."

"Well eat up and take a nap maybe. We don't have any trees to lie under, but the grass is soft," the older trainer suggested smartly, and the Black Latios nodded as he began on his lunch, which was delicious as usual. He released his other pokemon from his belt, and they joined the massive crowd of pokemon already out and chowing down, unaware of their master's discomfort.

He ate his lunch in a pensive silence, brooding on his strange feelings... feelings that none of his friends or pokemon seemed to share. Perhaps it was just him. Regardless, his lunch consumed, he lay down on the soft grass and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

Meanwhile, out in the unimpeded fields, the pokemon had gathered to have something fun.

"So what do you guys want to do? Mock battles, anyone?" Pikachu asked with a grin, earning groans from most of the pokemon there.

"Bad idea...unless you want to split this island in two," Kirlia countered smartly, imaging the carnage an entire group of highly trained and extremely powerful pokemon all battling at once could cause, "Let's do something with a little less destruction. Plus, we can't tire out the pokemon carrying us...unless you guys like swimming."

"Hmm...swimming sounds like a good idea really," Riolu offered, "We are on an island after all."

"Yeah...an island surrounded by cliffs of death," Charizard said with a grunt, already bored, "You want to jump off one of those? Be my guest." He preferred Pikachu's battling idea, but he knew the truth of Kirlia's words.

"Any other ideas then?" the electric mouse asked, deciding that if nothing interesting was going to happen, he would just take a nap like Ash. "And it better not be something boring like gossiping about our trainer's personal lives. If we're gonna gossip, I'll volunteer Riolu and Kirlia to go first, seeing as they were all over each other the other day..." Pikachu suddenly found two fists greeting his face in a rather fast fashion, sending him flying far out and over the greed pasture, courtesy of Riolu and Kirlia. The other pokemon just laughed, amused by the pair's antics.

"Well...that was interesting..." Charizard commented with a toothy smile, chuckling at Kirlia's and Riolu's reactions, "If you two are already like that, I can go tunnel out a suitable cave for you two to spend..."

"You say another word," Kirlia hissed abruptly, jumping up, grabbing Charizard's snout and dragging him to the ground, leveling her gaze of death at him, "...and I'll flay your hide alive and make fake dragon stew."

Charizard laughed, holding up his claws in surrender. He should have known by now; women were scary. "Was that dragon comment really necessary?" he asked, amused, earning another death glare from Kirlia. Riolu chuckled, knowing that only a few things could really set Kirlia off like that, one of them being extreme public embarrassment. It was cute really.

"Well now what?" Pikachu suddenly said, rejoining the circle while rubbing his sore face, "We've been sitting here for hours..."

"It's been fifteen minutes," Riolu deadpanned, rolling his eyes.

"Well, I got an idea now, and it's not what you two perverts suggested," Kirlia said, scowling towards Pikachu and Charizard, who continued to laugh at their expense.

"And that would be?" Pikachu asked, folding his arms, smirking.

"Simple," the emotion pokemon answered, turning to Riolu with a mischievous grin and tapping his ear lightly with her hand, "Tag. You're. It."

And suddenly, every pokemon there got the gist of what was going to happen next. They scattered like dust in the wind, going every which way, even up and down. Abruptly, Riolu found himself alone. It took him a couple of seconds to process what had just happened, but when he finally did get it, he grinned manically. Oh, he would have his revenge.'

"Looks like I got a psychic-type to catch," he muttered as his developing aura tracked her signature in the flowing grass.

* * *

_An hour later_

The game had finally come to a close, each pokemon heading back toward the start. None of them were really that tired, considering that they'd had an entire, mostly-flat island to play on. The vast plain had allowed them all to scatter effectively and rest in-between for extended periods of time while they watched their friends chase each other. It was fun, but now they had to regroup to depart.

"Everyone accounted for?" Pikachu asked as he began to mentally count and catalog each of the present pokemon. "Looks like it...We missing anyone?"

Riolu double checked, his budding aura spreading out. The mixture of pokemon seemed to be the same, but his aura told him something was a bit off. Then he figured it out. "Hey! Where'd Ralts go?" he asked, spinning around just to see if he was approaching.

The electric mouse pokemon blinked, realizing that they had totally forgotten about Max's newest pokemon and addition to the group. The young psychic-type had barely said anything during the entire journey and trip, so Pikachu had forgotten the little guy was even there in the first place.

"Just great...Alright everyone! Spread out! Find Ralts. The little guy can't have gotten too far," Pikachu bared, used to taking the lead in situations like this. Idly, he remembered a similar situation from the past happening with his old friend Togetic, who was just a Togepi at the time. He smiled slightly; those were the good days, when he could just worry about kicking the next pokemon's butt without worrying about world saving duty or anything like that.

After fifteen minutes of scouring every hole and blade of grass on the island, Pikachu began to worry. There was no sign of the little guy anywhere, which could mean two things. One, he had never been there to begin with and had instead stayed with Max in his pokeball, or two, he had left the island. The latter was a very scary idea, because as Charizard had put it, a pokemon without the ability to fly would quickly meet their doom by the cliffs surrounding the island.

Pikachu hoped it was the former, but now, this was an emergency. He ran for Ash.

"Ash! Ash, wake up!" Pikachu yelled, pulling on his trainer's jacket with all of his strength. His trainer didn't respond and instead swatted Pikachu away and returned to sleep. The electric-type sighed; he hadn't done this in a long time, but this was important. Gathering some electricity in his cheeks, he jolted Ash with a Thundershock, immediately getting his message across.

"ARRRGGHH!" Ash yelled as he awoke, his clothes lightly singed and his hair sticking out in random angles, "What the heck was that for, Pikachu?!"

"It's an emergency! Ralts has gone missing. We were playing tag, and now, we can't find him anywhere," Pikachu answered quickly, and Ash was up on his feet in an instant. Latias had heard and jumped up as well, knowing that they would have to search for him.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked, noticing the commotion and apparent panic flitting across Pikachu and Ash's faces. The rest of the group had gathered around as well, having seen the pokemon running around in a mad flurry just seconds earlier.

The Black Latios looked directly at Max and held his shoulders tight. "Max. Ralts has gone missing," he said calmly, knowing he had to stay calm if he wanted Max to. He could see the fear and worry in the young trainer's face, but the boy was strong and refused to freak out. "We'll find him. I think I got a way to do it faster."

"How?" Max asked, his voice a bit strained. He was a level-headed child, but that didn't stop him from worrying.

"I need to see Ralts' pokeball. I may be able to track him via Aura if you let me see it."

Immediately, Max fished out the right pokeball among his empty ones, holding it for Ash to examine.

The Black Latios closed his eyes, focusing on his recently released powers, finding them responding to him easily and readily now. Ash could see it, the faint glow of a light team aura outlining the pokeball in Max's hand. He looked out to the massive field with his eyes closed and his powers focused. A couple dozen trails of aura remained there, an assortment of blues, reds, oranges, yellows and greens, left when all of their pokemon were running around there earlier. He sifted through the larger aura trails, looking for any light teal hidden among the veritable rainbow.

Abruptly, Ash spotted something: a small sliver of teal breaking away from the massive scribble of color, leading around the mountain. He followed the tiny trail, which was broken up into barely detectable fragments, a testament to how long it had been since Ralts had passed through the area, but he suddenly stopped, noticing how the trail wrapped around the cliff and onto a narrow ledge barely six inches across. Ralts was somewhere down that ledge.

"He went down here," Ash said, grimacing as he noticed he was literally standing on the edge of the cliff, the crashing sounds of rising and falling waves roaring in his ears, the smell of salt floating in the air.

"You sure he went this way?" Max asked, noticing just how dangerous it looked. There was no way a human could possibly maneuver the ledge without professional equipment to prevent them from falling to their death. "How the heck do we even move through that?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure. And that's easy. We're going to be smart and fly around," Ash said with a grin as he returned the majority of his pokemon, save for the flying ones, and transformed into his latios form, 'Don't worry Max. He's around here.' Ash motioned for Dawn to hop on, and their previous arrangements for flying were followed. They hovered slowly around the giant mountain while Ash traced Ralts' aura.

Flying back out, they stopped, stunned. Built into the side of the mountain, a decrepit, heavy metal door stood, barely open. The door had rusted and cracked all along the edges, but Ash could tell that it was still solid and very heavy, meant to keep things out...or in.

"What in the world? Why is there a giant door built into the side of a mountain facing a cliff?" Brock asked, as they moved closer. Upon, closer examination, they could see there was just enough space for one Ralts to crawl through. No doubt, their quarry was inside.

'No idea...' Ash answered as he took hold of the giant metal doorway with his psychic powers, 'But we're about to find out.' He pushed the doors aside slowly, and they flew into the darkness after their lost friend.

* * *

_Meanwhile_

Giovanni was not having a good day, not at all. In fact, this was probably the crappiest day he'd had in a couple of years.

He growled, opening the file that contained details of the most recent failure. One of the pokeball manufacturers had somehow discovered the true identity and function of one his companies and refused to sell them any more specialty pokeballs, or even regular pokeballs at any price. This problem had been further compounded when mentioned manufacturer reported the company to the news and police, convincing other vendors to stop selling as well. Giovanni cursed; this would destroy his supply of easily accessible pokeballs for his grunts. Despite the fact that nearly seventy percent of the pokeballs went to waste on stupid captures or failures, the crime boss knew this would cut into his operations.

He would have to destroy all of the evidence relating him to that company, which he had created, shut down his current business, then start up a new company under a different guise and hopefully work towards reconfiguring all of his current assets to fit the new company. It would take months of effort, and even longer to get any substantial contracts to refill the supply stock. He growled and cursed again; this was going to delay everything for a while. Until he got a new company up and running again, he would have to just give out a bit more money to working agents so they could buy their own pokeballs in stores. Though, that in itself posed a serious risk and was a problem for his current project, considering that tunneling funds from his "Take Over The World" project to measly grunts would halt a lot of progress.

Giovanni frowned, knowing he couldn't even trust his underlings to spend the extra money correctly, but that was the best he could do right now without alerting the authorities or upsetting the lower levels. He already had enough troubles to deal with.

On top of that, he had another pressing issue, a security one. Those _three idiots_ hadn't returned their original suits to the department. Other than the fact that they were walking disasters wrapped in failure and pity, they posed a serious threat because, at the moment, they were unmonitored and free. Upon the initialization of his current project, Giovanni had made it a policy to monitor all activity, looking for possible treason or subterfuge. He had issued out new uniforms as a sign of good faith and progress, but, in truth, each suit carried a tracking signal and voice recorder that relayed all information back to HQ. Unfortunately, those three had somehow slipped under the radar and were now out in the world doing Arceus knows what, no doubt chasing after that stupid pikachu.

And that was another thing. They had direct contact with that annoying boy who always happened to somehow get involved whenever things got started. He had ruined his plans more times than he could even count, and it really pissed him off. That was the danger. If they came into contact with him, they could accidentally spill everything, the plan, the new location of the headquarters and anything else.

Groaning again, he leaned back in his chair, petting his beloved persian slowly for comfort. The day just couldn't get worse.

Without warning, a grunt entered without muttering a single word, knowing the boss was not in a good mood. She simply placed the holographic communication device on the desk and briskly walked out.

She would be glad she didn't linger, because just a moment later, a roar of fury shook the hallways, causing every grunt and facility member to look around in worry.

Inside of his office, Giovanni just couldn't believe his ears and eyes. He replayed the message again and again from Doctor whateverhisfaceis.

"I regret to inform you Giovanni, but our orb frequency tracker lost a signal yesterday. It disappeared over the island of Shamouti. I've gone over the data and all of the possibilities, but only one stands. Another orb has just been taken out of our grasp, no doubt by the same culprit as the others. We'll try and intercept their next attempt, but this only means we are on a clock now. Someone else has started collecting orbs as well."

The rocket boss hissed as he listened to the message again; he was going to kill someone for this!

* * *

_Back with Ash_

"This place gives me the creeps..." Misty said as they entered, the light of Kirlia's Will-O-Wisp leading the way. They had walked **into what seemed to be a giant** chamber meant to hold hundreds of people. However, just like the door, it had fallen into disrepair. Pillars of golden rock lay on the floor in ruin, forgotten and abandoned, and glass from giant spherical lamps lay on the floor, cracked and shattered into infinitesimal pieces. The smell of stagnant water choked the air, mixing with the smell of dust, age and earth. However, what really stood out was the giant spiral staircase that loomed overhead with barely enough infrastructure to hold itself up.

"What is this place?" Latias asked, a bit freaked out by the sheer size of the room, "And why is it under a mountain?" They navigated around a bit, finding another pool of water, clearly designed to be a fountain but it no longer working, its waters colored a nasty green. A few slabs of earth sat in the center of the room, flattened at the tops and polished, just tall enough to be sat at like a table. Dark tunnels and pathways dotted the back and sides of the room, leading further in, though to where, they had no idea.

"Who knows..." Ash said, that feeling he had felt earlier when they had approached the island returning to him as he looked at the giant, suspended staircase overhead, "But Ralts is in here somewhere. We have to find him." Closing his eyes again, Ash found the trail again; it seemed to go up the stairs. "He apparently climbed up."

"You serious? I'm not climbing that thing!" Brock said, taking another look at the deteriorating structure. Bits of it were already broken off, and large cracks ran alongside the edge of the pathway. There was no way he was walking on that. "If we even attempt to climb that, it would fall apart and possibly bring the entire ceiling down. We have to find another way around."

Unfortunately, Ash hadn't even paid attention and was already climbing the stairs, wondering why the Aura trail seemed to suddenly disappear.

"Ash! Get down from there!" Brock whispered fiercely and desperately, praying to Arceus that the old structure would hold.

"What? It's fine," the Black Latios answered confidently, giving them all a thumbs up, but suddenly, a loud groaning and cracking sound issued forth from the staircase along with the moan of bending metal. "Uh oh..."

Abruptly, the stairs began to give way, crumbling under Ash's weight, the shock traveling all the way up the path into the ceiling, which began to show signs of stress as fissures began to spread out.

"GET OUT OF RANGE! RUN TO THE TUNNELS!" Brock roared, grabbing Max and Dawn, who were the closest and running for his life. Ash stumbled backwards, losing his balance as the structure began to shake like paper in the wind. He gasped as he suddenly found himself in free fall.

"ASH!" Latias screamed, instantly transforming and flying up to save her trainer from the fall and the crumbling rocks just in time to catch him on her back.

Everything was coming down now. Rocks and pieces of ceiling the size of a Snorlax smashed into the ground with a fury, throwing up dust and shrapnel. The support pillars holding up the room fell as well, tumbling down with a boom, sending out shockwaves that had everyone reeling.

Misty and May ran for their lives, ducking and weaving through the stone falling from above, praying they wouldn't get hit. With a desperate dive, they jumped into a tunnel before a huge boulder nearly crushed them.

Pikachu, sprinting frantically, noticed Riolu and Kirlia following him. He jumped left and right, his senses guiding him towards Brock's tunnel, only to be suddenly cut off by a steel beam falling from the ceiling. He used a Quick Attack to swerve to the left, sliding to a stop as he nearly tripped on some fallen rocks. Riolu and Kirlia had similarly dodged the beam, ending up right behind him.

Latias tried to dive and pull them out, but she couldn't reach them in time as the staircase finally gave way, giant slabs larger than a small house descending on them. She barrel rolled out of the way, feeling Ash's grip tighten, and dived into another tunnel that had yet to be blocked, not knowing the fate of the others.

Kirlia, Riolu and Pikachu were cut off, and there was a giant rock coming down at them. Kirlia screamed, grabbing Pikachu's tail and Riolu's paw with just one thought in her mind: disappear. Then the rock came down with a boom, completely destroying the area.

Metal and stone ground against each other in free fall, scraping along the walls and smashing into the inactive fountains below, blasting the old water out onto the debris-covered floor. Metal screeched against metal as the sounds of destruction filled their ears, and one final boom resounded in the giant chamber; an eerie silence followed afterward.

It had finally stopped, but the sounds of a few shifting rocks could still be heard. Rubble spilled into the tunnels, blocking out all light and encasing everyone in darkness.

* * *

Ash breathed heavily, his heart beating fast and his mind still reeling, the feeling of almost dying taking over him. This was his fault. He had been careless, and now he didn't even know if everyone had made it out okay. This was his fault.

"Arceus...I'm such an idiot!" he screamed, overcome by feelings of worry and guilt, "If I had just paid more attention we wouldn't be in this mess. What if...what if..."

"Ash," Latias said strictly, taking his hand, "Don't worry. You didn't mean to cause all of this."

"But I did anyway! If someone died..." Ash choked out, not even wanting to think of the possibility; it would make him sick.

"No one died," she said firmly, "I can feel them. Everyone is alright. If you don't believe me, reach out with your aura and feel it yourself." Ash was afraid. What if she was wrong? What if he didn't find someone? "Ash, believe me." She squeezed his hand, feeling his sadness and guilt, but Latias had to be strong for her trainer. Ash closes eyes, counting all of the nearby auras, and a great breath of relief broke through him. They were all there, alive.

"Thank Arceus..." he said, tears falling from his eyes. He couldn't forgive himself for putting all of his friends in danger.

"Ash. It's okay. We're all alive. You didn't mean to cause a cave-in. You were thinking about Ralts," Latias whispered, pulling her trainer into her arms, rubbing his back in a circular motion, "C'mon. It will be okay. What we need to focus on now is getting out of here and finding Ralts." It took a few moments, but Ash eventually calmed down, taking solace in Latias' embrace.

"Thanks Latias..." he said shakily, "You saved me, too...No idea what I would do without you."

"You're welcome," she answered with an unseen smile, "Now. Chin up Ash. We have other problems to solve here. We don't have any light, and Charizard isn't an option in this tunnel. We need to find our way back to the others as soon as possible."

"Yeah. You're right," Ash said, his resolve returning, "This isn't a time to be crying. We need to go see if everyone else is really okay...Now, how do we see..." Ash's eyes couldn't see in the dark, but his aura could. That was how they were going to see. "It's okay. We don't need a fire. I can see with my Aura Latias." Grabbing her hand, Ash led the way. "I'm not going to stop until I know everyone is alright."

* * *

Pikachu shook his head; a ringing still persistent in his ears as he recovered from the feeling of nearly being crushed to death by a giant boulder. He was confused though; he should have died. They had been cut off, with a giant rock coming down overhead. How had he survived?

He struggled to his feet, noticing two other bodies sprawled out on the ground near him, belonging to Kirlia and Riolu. He looked up and blinked, making sure his eyes weren't lying to him, and then silently thanked Arceus while carefully crawling away. Only a few inches above his head, a large steel beam was frozen in place, just barely sparing Pikachu a gory and literally crushing death.

"Guys..." Pikachu roused, poking the other two, already sure they were alive by their breathing, "Hey guys, get up. We gotta move."

Riolu groaned, prying himself off of the floor, lightly cursing Ash for his impulsiveness as he tumbled to the floor again, his legs feeling like jelly. "Arceus...next time remind me to never let Ash lead again. Kirlia are you okay?"

"Ugh...did it work?" Kirlia moaned, opening her eyes and coughing out the dust in her lungs, but suddenly, she hissed, crying out in pain, clutching her left foot instinctively. Immediately, Riolu was at her side.

"What's wrong?" Riolu asked, worry filling him as he heard Kirlia's uncomfortable cry of pain.

"...Sprained my ankle, and there's a gash..." she muttered through her clenched teeth, lighting up the area with a small Will-O-Wisp. "Must've gotten hit before I could Teleport us out..." Looking down, Kirlia knew she was right; the area around her left ankle was swollen and inflamed. A nasty cut was also present where the rock had hit her; Riolu nearly had a fit when he saw the injury. Pikachu grimaced. That would have to get treated lest it get infected.

Pikachu cursed. "Can you walk?" he asked which, Kirlia responded with a cry of pain as she attempted to get up.

Riolu scowled, taking his best friend's arm, "We need to find Ash as soon as possible." Pulling his best friend off the floor, he began to trudge down the hall in determination. "I should be able to locate him with my Aura. He can fix you up and put you in his pokeball to rest." The emanation pokemon didn't waste any time and began walking with Kirlia in tow, Pikachu following closely behind.

* * *

"Look...there's some light ahead," Ash said, pointing down their tunnel in the darkness. They had been walking through the gloom for a good fifteen minutes already, climbing over dislodged rocks and avoiding fallen parts of the floor. This place was extremely worn down.

"Maybe it's one of the others?" Latias suggested hopefully, believing their friends to be the only other possible light sources.

"No," the Black Latios muttered with disappointment, his senses telling him the others weren't nearby, "But let's check it out."

"Ash! We're supposed to be regrouping, not exploring," she reprimanded, reminding her trainer of their task at hand.

"We also need to look for Ralts. There's no harm in checking since we'll have to do it anyway," he reasoned, and Latias really couldn't argue with that logic. Moving further down the hallway, they saw that the light bended around a large open doorway, and Ash turned into the room, stopping as he came upon an unexpected sight.

Hundreds of screens, giant monitors, buzzed and flickered as they hung on the old walls. Thousands of wires were scattered all over the place, littering the floor like inanimate, black and silver snakes waiting for prey. Smashed up consoles lined the walls, rusted, broken and unpowered. Dust clung to every inch of every surface of the room; no human or pokemon had been here in ages.

"What in the world...What is all this?" Ash breathed out, moving about to look around. Abandoned and broken chairs were piled in the corner, forming a mountain of plastic and fabric. He looked up at some of the monitors still flickering with bits of power, his curiosity mounting. "How are some of these things even getting power?"

"I have no idea..." Latias said, creeped out by the fact that this room used to be a place to live and work in but was now a complete ghost town, "And an even better question is, 'Why is something like this here in the first place, on an abandoned island in the middle of the ocean?'"

"Who knows...but..." Ash began, those previous feelings of darkness, sadness and anger returning, "..I don't like it..." They continued to poke around, calling out for Ralts every now and then, earning nothing but the sounds of creaking metal in return. The pair stopped as they suddenly came upon an elevated pedestal situated in the center of the room. A fine powder covered the floor around it, and as Ash stepped over it, he realized it was crushed glass. This pedestal had been some sort of tube for holding something big, and looking up, even more wires could be seen dangling from the ceiling, like metal tentacles grabbing from the void.

Suddenly, Latias bumped into one of the consoles, flipping a lever, causing a loud buzz of static to blast out from the screen's speakers.

Latias screamed out of instinct, jumping into Ash's arms out of fear. Ash, surprised as well, nearly lost his balance, but quickly recovered, looking up at the activated screen.

"It's alright Latias," he soothed, petting her hair and smiling against the eerie blue light, "It's just the screen trying to replay something."

The image on the screen was broken, its sound more-so. Bits and pieces of sound coughed out of the dust clogged speakers, but no clear message could be made out. The image was also obscured by bars of gray static, blocking the face that had appeared on screen.

"Crea...this pok...newest...clo...Me...progree...aur..." the screen said incoherently; it was completely undecipherable.

"What do you think he's saying?" Latias asked, still in Ash's arms, curious now.

"Hmm...no idea...But let me try something," Ash said, crouching down and taking a look at the terminal Latias had accidentally activated. He noticed a large plug in the back and yanked it out, thinking there wasn't enough power to actually display what was wanted. As the plug was pulled, the sounds of a large machine powering down echoed in the darkness, and Ash brought the two prongs to his fingers.

"Luckily, Pikachu has been teaching me how to generate some electricity," Ash explained to a curious Latias as she saw a spark of electricity issue from his hands. The machine roared to life, now fully powered, and the message was displayed in full. A man, presumably a scientist, given his white lab coat, appeared on screen, blocked only by a layer of dust.

"Date: December 2nd 2351. It has been half a year since our discovery of Mew, one of the most ancient pokemon in history, in Guyana. Samples of hair gathered from the mysterious creature have proved to be a veritable genetic bank vault. We have succeed in pulling out DNA strands that match current day pokemon multiple times. Experiments on the viability of pokemon creation through means of genetic splicing and cell research have truly taken bounds and leaps ever since we acquired Mew's genetic material. Unfortunately, not many of the current specimens are producing anything worthy of note and have to be terminated, but I've just about cracked the genetic code hidden in these hairs. However, the challenge remains on how to incorporate all of Mew's genetic data successfully. More research is needed. I'll ring up Dr. Namba later and pester him for more precise tools. Hopefully that man isn't too preoccupied with those crackpot schemes he loves to cook up."

"Date: January 4th 2352. Remarkable success has been seen in our latest and greatest specimen. It seems the the separation and rejoining of Mew's genetic material within the Alakazam egg cells has catalyzed a response. It took and reassembled itself to conform to the new genetic material, and is showing astounding progress. Splicing was remarkably simpler, and it seems that this new specimen may finally bear the fruit we all have been looking for."

"Date: February 3rd 2352. Amazing! The specimen has formed an entire new body of its own design within a month! It seems maturation is nearly complete as well, and it won't be long until this one is ready. A head with two large horns extending from the impressive cerebral cortex which, is backed by two spinal cords, seems to be the distinctive feature of this creature. These connections seem to indicate higher mental capacity and abilities. Three digits are counted on each hand and foot, and in a sense, this new pokemon is probably the closest thing we have to a clone of Mew. We have thus so christened it, Mewtwo. Our boss is very pleased."

"Date: February 6th 2352. Success! Overwhelming success! In just a few moments, this spawn of Mew will embrace the world for the first time. Preliminary tests show that Mewtwo possesses not only great intelligence but nearly limitless power. Its psychic abilities are something we have never seen before. All measurements are off the charts! Oh my! It's begun!"

What Ash and Latias then saw on screen, was the destruction of the facility, and Mewtwo's rage upon his birth. They were amazed by his power, and scared of just how easy it had been for him to destroy and kill. And before they could process what they had just seen, the screen continued, a new face appearing there. The laboratory had been rebuilt, apparently

"May 30th 2352. Mewtwo shows frightening progress in its abilities, fearsome progress. It harnesses natural psychic powers with ease, able to lift more than five tons with its powers without breaking a sweat. In the spirit of precaution, limiting equipment is being developed so that we may better control and direct Mewtwo's powers. We do not want a repeat of the destruction of this facility."

"June 5th 2352. Who would have thought that only a year after discovering Mew, our organization would have a successful near-clone under out control? Mewtwo's power grows everyday, and so does our knowledge and ability to control him. We have developed a certain type of power suit meant to corral its dangerous psychic powers. Success has been limited, however. Mewtwo's performance dropped a measly two percent even with the suit at max limiting power. Our scientists have suggested other means of dampening Mewtwo's abilities, but no solution has been presented yet. We have begun researching with the last of Mew's genetic material on the more basic principles of pokemon, including where they gain all of their power. Hopefully, this will yield some secrets as to how we may limit and control Mewtwo."

"July 26th 2352. An astounding breakthrough has occurred! We thought it would take us years to unravel this secret, but it seems luck has favored our progress as of late. One of our scientists discovered a sort of all-permeating field which bends reality itself. Apparently by interacting with this field, pokemon are able to generate their power. In a sense, creating a pillar of fire and beams of ice are actually the same process, only distinguished by different interactions in the field. It seems that pokemon are in tune with specific aspects of the field that allow them to manipulate it and create the attacks known today as pokemon moves. For now, no formal name has been given to the omnipresent field, but further research has yielded extraordinary results. We have created a rudimentary device that blocks parts of the field which, and will, in theory, lower power output. Tests will be run later on today when this device is retrofitted to Mewtwo's neural blocking suit. If we continue with these tests, it may someday be possible for us to control this field, which will open infinite possibilities."

"August 22nd 2352. Our resources have yielded some outside information that seems relevant to our work. According to a legend that originates in the north, there were humans in the past that could directly interact with this field we have rediscovered, which was known to them as Aura. It is unknown if we could implement this ability into a pokemon, but it suggests that a binding of certain moves to a pokemon could be nullified. This may be how moves such as Assist and Metronome work. This is also a probable explanation as to how Mew is able to use all moves known in existence. Strangely enough, pokemon such as Ditto and Smeargle, display similar abilities though on a lower scale. If we are somehow able to extract this from the DNA we have, a new breed of super pokemon could be born! In other news, Mewtwo grows restless. Regardless, he is no longer a problem and is under our complete control."

"Sep...September...1st...Mewtwo...escaped...lab... ruins...hundreds...dead...research to disappear...New Island backup system...activate..."

Suddenly, the screen went black as a scream was heard from the speakers, and the video feed stopped completely. Latias and Ash stood stock still, staring at the monitor, not sure if they had truly discovered what they thought they had.

"This...this place...is where Mewtwo was created..." Ash whispered, both amazed and horrified at the events that had led up to Mewtwo's birth and final escape. "New Island..." As soon as he whispered that name, an image of blue and pink lights surged in his brain. "ARGH!" he screamed, clutching the sides of his head with his hands, his face frozen in fear.

"Ash! What's wrong?" Latias asked as she looked into his eyes, seeing something akin to terror flash in his eyes, "Ash? Ash!"

He could see it: an explosion of light from two sides colliding with his body, burning him and destroying him. His memory faded to black and went cold. His body felt rigid, like stone, and tears pooled in his eyes.

"I...I died..." Ash whispered, his voice shaken, "I was killed here..." He shook in Latias' arms, his memory suddenly returning. Everything was there. Falling into the sea and clinging to Misty's pokemon for his life. Nurse Joy's brainwashing. The clones. Those dark pokeballs...And..." I first met Mewtwo here...He thought he didn't belong in the world, and I tried to stop him from taking over with his clones...I jumped in between psychic blasts from him and Mew and turned into stone...I died..." That was why he had felt so horrible ever since coming to the island. Despite the fact that Mewtwo had tried to erase their memories, death is a hard thing to forget.

"Shh, Ash... shh," Latias comforted, holding him tight in her arms, feeling his fear and his trembling, "It's okay. I'm here. You're here and alive. I'll protect you." Ash listened, letting her words wash over him. He didn't know why his memory had suddenly returned, but he knew it was safe in Latias' arms.

"Thanks Latias..." he muttered, shaken, but grateful for her presence.

"Always," she said simply, ruffling Ash's hair affectionately. After a few moments, Ash's breathing returned to normal, and he wiped away his tears, standing up again.

"We found out a lot more than we thought we would..." Ash muttered, pulling himself together, "Team Rocket created this place. Then it was taken over by Mewtwo after he decided he'd had enough of their crap...but then there was that part about Aura..." It bothered him. If Team Rocket had knowledge of Aura all those years ago, was it possible that they were tied into the current Aura crisis?

Ash didn't know. He hadn't heard anything about Team Rocket as of late. They had mostly disappeared as a crime organization overall, or they were covering their tracks really well. Regardless, he would have to ask three certain idiots the next time they tried to ambush him.

"Let's get a move on Latias," Ash said, tired, "The others are counting on us, and we have a lot to figure out and do. For some reason...I feel like this is just the beginning..."

* * *

Well that's this chappie. Bit of a filler really, but it does give some insight into the past for Ash and sets up a nice little confrontation next time we see our three favorite idiots which might be coming sooner than Ash thinks!

**And thank you to everyone who submitted something for the beta-position! I'm happy to finally be able to say thank you to my beta – hazju1**

**On another note! We've reached the 900 reviews mark! Unbelievable! (*faints*). You guys are the best!**

Thank you all for reading and and please review!

-Mekon


	30. Ch29: Into the Light

******DISCLAIMER**

Odds of me owning Pokemon in the near future are as slim as catching Arceus with a pokeball on turn one.

_Summary: _After losing in the Sinnoh league, Ash and his friends head back home, but make a stop in Altomare to visit some old friends. But it's a start of a new adventure as unexpected changes befall upon our young hero. Altoshipping!

Rating T – Strong language, Suggestive but Non-Explicit Adult Themes, and Cartoon Violence

" " = talking

' ' = telepathy

"_hello"_aura

___thoughts_

{action}

* * *

Last Time:

"_Ash! What's wrong?" Latias asked as she looked into his eyes, seeing something akin to terror flash in his eyes, "Ash? Ash!"_

_He could see it, an explosion of light from two sides colliding with his body, burning him and destroying him. His memory faded to black and went cold. His body felt rigid, like stone, and tears pooled in his eyes. _

"_I...I died..." Ash whispered, his voice shaken, "I was killed here..." He shook in Latias' arms, his memory suddenly returning. Everything was there. Falling into the sea and clinging to Misty's pokemon for his life. Nurse Joy's brainwashing. The clones. Those dark pokeballs...And..." I first met Mewtwo here...He thought he didn't belong in the world, and I tried to stop him from taking over with his clones...I jumped in between a psychic blast from him and Mew and turned into stone...I died..." That was why he had felt so horrible ever since coming to the island. Despite the fact that Mewtwo had tried to erase their memories, death is a hard thing to forget. _

"_Shh, Ash... shh," Latias comforted, holding him tight in her arms, feeling his fear and his trembling, "It's okay. I'm here. You're here and alive. I'll protect you." Ash listened, letting her words wash over him. He didn't know why his memory had suddenly returned, but he knew it was safe in Latias' arms._

"_Thanks Latias..." he muttered, shaken, but he was grateful for her presence._

"_Always," she said simply, ruffling Ash's hair affectionately. After a few moments, Ash's breathing returned to normal, and he wiped away his tears, standing up again._

"_We found out a lot more than we thought we would..." Ash muttered, pulling himself together, "Team Rocket created this place. Then it was taken over by Mewtwo after he decided he had had enough of their crap...but then there was that part about Aura..." It bothered him. If Team Rocket had knowledge of Aura all those years ago, was it possible that they were tied into the current Aura crisis now?_

_Ash didn't know. He hadn't heard anything about Team Rocket as of late. They had mostly disappeared as a crime organization overall, or they had covered their tracks really well recently. Regardless, he would have to ask three certain idiots the next time they tried to ambush him._

"_Let's get a move on Latias," Ash said, tired, "The others are counting on us, and we have a lot to figure out and do. For some reason...I feel like this is just the beginning..."_

* * *

Ch29: Into the Light

Riolu growled in annoyance as he hauled himself over a fallen piece of debris, shifting his weight carefully to make sure his best friend, Kirlia, was as comfortable as possible. Her condition was getting worse, her breathing becoming more and more erratic with each passing moment they were stuck in the darkened halls of the Arceus-forsaken mountain. When they had finally examined her, they realized, to their horror, that Kirlia's injuries had been worse than they had thought. In addition to the ankle injury, she had sustained a very deep cut somehow, most likely from the fallen metal beams. Even now, Riolu could feel the steady drip of his best friend's blood fall on the back of his legs as they walked through the tunnel.

He didn't want to think about what could happen if they didn't make it out in time, the very thought gripping his heart like a vice and forcing him forward through the darkness, Pikachu hot on his tail. She had been slipping in and out of consciousness for a while now, and now, she was completely out of it.

"She's getting worse," Riolu said anxiously, cursing underneath his breath, "She must have somehow come into contact with the water..." He flinched as he remembered the debris sending a shower of the festering pool of filth into the air. A single drop would have been enough...

"Poisoned," Pikachu summed up grimly, as he placed a concerned paw on Kirlia's forehead, feeling the burning sensation snaking through his arm like a Flamethrower attack, "We have to keep moving. There's only one way to help her now..." Riolu growled deeper in anger, frustration and fear, gripping his best friend tighter, quickening his pace.

He felt so lost. Kirlia was always the calm one. If she were able, she would have come up with a plan and assured them of its successs, but now...Riolu just didn't know what to do.

"If only...If only I was stronger!" the emanation pokemon muttered grimly, gritting his teeth together angrily, "I could have..."

"Done nothing," Pikachu finished sternly, placing an understanding paw on his friend's shoulders, "We were trapped, and Kirlia did what she could to save us. Our job now is to make sure she gets out of here. She's counting on us right now." Riolu opened his mouth to argue, but shut it quickly when the weak voice of Kirlia filtered through his sensitive ears.

"It's...going...to be...fine...Riolu..." she breathed out deliriously, hacking violently after that. The pathetic sound of her voice tore at Riolu's heart. He couldn't' stand it, just watching his best friend suffer like this.

"Let's move," the electric mouse pokemon said firmly, sparking his cheeks lightly to illuminate the passageway briefly, taking point, "We need to find Ash."

Not another word was spoken as the two able-bodied pokemon wandered through the halls, hoping to find some sign of an exit. The crunching sounds of pebbles and dirt being squashed underneath their halls echoed ominously in the dusty silence, seemingly endless. Riolu shivered; the endless blanket of blackness was suffocating in presence and oppressive in nature.

"Look," Pikachu said suddenly, noticing that the next archway was very different from the last twenty or so they had passed. Bounding forward, he marveled at the sudden space he found himself in. It was a massive area, littered by rocks and what seemed to be twisted metal and wires, rusted by the time and the natural conditions of the mountain. Sparking his cheeks again with more power than before, his eyes widened as he realized that that the word "massive" was clearly an understatement. The entire place was colossal just by scale alone. However, the strangest thing about the entire place was the widespread destruction littering the entire place. Craters dotted the entire floor, each one at least as big as him. One thing was clear, however. This place had been a place of intense battle.

"What...what is this place?" Riolu asked, amazed but the sheer size of the battlefield. Pikachu didn't respond and instead ran over to an indent he had noticed in the wall earlier. The section had cracked and fallen away, revealing a network of crisscrossed, multicolored wires underneath of varying sizes. The electric mouse didn't have a clue as to what they did, but he did what he did best.

Unceremoniously, he ripped out a bunch of wires with his teeth and connected them to his cheeks, sending a powerful current into the wires. Suddenly, a flash of white light blinded Pikachu and Riolu briefly, and they blinked their eyes rapidly to rid themselves of the sudden daze, looking up to find giant, stadium lights standing overhead.

"What in the world..." Riolu breathed out in awe. It was clearly a battling arena; that they could confirm. However, the sheer size of the place was stunning, large enough to hold at least a hundred giant onixes comfortably. It would have cost a fortune to create and an even bigger amount to run. But who would have made such a place and then abandon it?

However, a cold chill snaked down Riolu's spine as he picked up on the lingering emotions clinging to the scarred ground. This was a place of violent battle, tinged with fear, anger and pure hatred, riddled with tragedy and sadness...

"I know this place..." Pikachu said with a monotonous voice and glazed look, his eyes seemingly empty as a small tear pooled in his eye, his gaze focused on one particular spot in the center of the arena where a ring of scorch marks lay on the ground.

"What do you mean? How could you know what this place is? This entire place looks like it's been underneath the mountain for years!" Riolu exclaimed, wondering if the darkness and lack of fresh air had caused his friend to go barmy.

"It has been underneath here for years...this is it for sure," the electric-type said with a grimace, shaking his head to clear the headache that was coming from finally remembering, "This was the birthplace of Mewtwo, turned into a massive battle arena in the hopes of taking over the world by using cloned pokemon...Many years ago, we were lured here by him."

"What! Mewtwo? As in the same legendary pokemon that has been helping us the entire time? That Mewtwo?" the emanation pokemon asked, extremely confused. He didn't understand. Why would Mewtwo try to take over the world?

"He is different now. But...when we first met him, he was bitter, angry at the fact that he was a clone created from Mew by humans. He wanted to prove himself superior...So he tried to lure pokemon trainers here to clone their pokemon and prove that clones were genetically superior."

"But let me guess. Ash came around and showed him that he didn't need to prove anything..." Riolu said, earning a nod from Pikachu, "Typical Ash...always trying to save the day..."

"It came at a great price..." Pikachu said somberly as he stared at the black ring in the center, "Mew and Mewtwo battled, each trying to prove their power. Every clone and every original fought, seemingly to the death...Ash...tried to get them to stop and stepped in between two psychic blasts, one from Mew and one from Mewtwo."

"What the heck! How in the world is he still alive then!" Riolu exclaimed, knowing that a normal human would never survive a direct attack from two pokemon that powerful, "Two attacks that powerful should have obliterated him!"

"I know..." Pikachu said with a sigh, closing his eyes painfully, the memory now fresh in his mind, "Ash wasn't obliterated...but...he was turned into stone, true stone. My electric attacks did nothing. He had died that day. Literally, he was a piece of rock shaped into the image of by best friend..." Riolu stilled, his mind spinning as he tried to understand, not really able to fathom a dead Ash. He always just seemed to be so...bulletproof or something.

"But...Ash is alive right now. How...No one can come back from the dead..." Riolu stated, his eyes widening in confusion.

"Through some strange..._magic_. He was revived by the tears of the pokemon in the arena," Pikachu said uncomfortably, not quite sure how to explain that moment to Riolu. Said pokemon stared at him like he was crazy. However, they were both brought out of their thoughts by another violent coughing fit from Kirlia.

"Pikachu, you said you remember this place. Do you know the way out?" Riolu asked in the most urgent voice possible. Pikachu deflated, shaking his head in the negative.

"Mewtwo teleported us all out...and then wiped our memories it seems...I don't know the way," he answered, frustrated himself, wishing he could have helped his friend. Riolu cursed, looking around, scanning for another path to take.

However, he stopped suddenly as he zeroed in on one of the large lights overhead, noticing a small red, horn poking just over the edge of the light. Spreading out his senses, he gasped in realization.

"Pikachu! I think Ralts is up there!" Riolu exclaimed.

* * *

Misty was not a happy camper at the moment. In fact, it would be very safe to assume that she was the exact opposite of a happy camper, not that she liked camping much anyway, because there were always those thrice-cursed bugs hanging about, ready to latch onto her and suck out her soul...However, right now, she would have gladly taken facing a bug as opposed to this suffocating darkness...probably a very small, slow and impossibly cute bug nonetheless...

"I'm going to kill that idiot...I swear...when I get out of here, I'm going to kill him," she muttered darkly to herself, caressing her mallet as if it were a newborn baby, suddenly yelping as she stubbed her toe on accident.

"Um Misty?" May asked, her voice shaking badly as she struggled to her feet, still able to hear the roaring and groaning sounds of grinding metal and falling rock just outside of where they had entered, "We...we need to find a way out of here. I know you're scared...I'm scared too.."

"I'm not scared!" Misty snapped, backing up into a particularly cold piece of metal and letting out an unearthly shriek, causing May to scream also and trip. Suddenly, the rustling of rock overhead caused them both to go deathly quiet, hoping that that the very worn, rock roof above them wouldn't come crashing down on their heads. "I'll say it again! I'm not scared!" the redhead whispered fiercely.

"Well...I am...and not just for myself..." May whispered, her voice quivering as she thought about her brother whose fate she did not know. Misty shuffled uncomfortably, feeling guilty now. "I mean...what if...what f he's..."

"Max will be fine," Misty said resolutely, trying her best to sound strong and confident. She had to be strong, despite the fact that she didn't know the fate of the others. It was in that moment that she truly comprehended the situation they were in, trapped underground and cutoff from the others. She **was** scared. There was no older, level-headed Brock to lead her along nor an impossibly optimistic Ash to lead the charge.

"What do we do?" May asked, her voice a bit choked up, just moments away from breaking down into a sob, her heart aching with worry and fear.

"We stay calm," the redhead answered, attempting to keep her voice as level as possible, surprised that it wavered only slightly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, wondering what her friends would do in her position. Ash would smile with that cocky and confident grin of his, running into the darkness without fear. Brock would calmly evaluate the situation and figure a way to get out.

She had to take charge. May was counting on her to be the older and wiser one.

"We need to come up with a way to see in here first. If we can't see, we can't move around safely and find the others. Without some sort of light, we could hurt ourselves," Misty finally said, but slightly deflated. She didn't have any pokemon that could produce a viable source of light that was constant and non-dangerous.

"I...still have Blaziken with me," May said hopefully, but Misty stopped her there.

"We can't. There's not enough space and if he accidentally hits something, it might cause the entire tunnel to collapse," Misty said worriedly, her eyes able to just barely make out the crumbling supports, exposed by the weathered rock. May frowned, but then suddenly got an idea, throwing one of her pokeballs. With a brief flash of light, Misty saw a small pink cat-like pokemon sitting on the ground.

"Why'd you bring out Skitty?" Misty asked, confused believing that the small kitten pokemon didn't possess any moves that could actively create sustainable light.

"Well...it's kind of risky...but I was going to try to use Assist. She could possibly get Ember or Flame Wheel which we could use for light," she explained a bit nervously, already knowing how dangerous it was to gamble on a move like Assist in a situation like this. No one, not even Skitty would know what sort of attack would come out of her paw when she used that move.

Misty stared at May incredulously, horrified at the idea. Blaziken knew freaking Overheat for Arceus' sake! She didn't feel like getting flash fried...but what other choice did they really have? Misty gulped but hesitantly gave the go ahead to May.

"Okay Skitty. I need you to listen very carefully to me alright?" May said, bending down to where she could barely make out the pink kitten pokemon who meowed happily in response, "Misty and I are in some trouble. We need light so we can see. I want you to keep using assist until you get either Ember or Flame Wheel. Tone down the power to as low as possible so you don't accidentally blow us up with something like Overheat. Okay?"

"Skit skitty!" the small pink pokemon dutifully replied, drawing out the power from her fellow comrades. Misty really hoped this would work.

On the first attempt, a powerful breeze whipped out from Skitty's paw, and immediately, the kitten pokemon canceled her attack and tried again. This time an icy, blue beam shot out of her paw and froze a section of the collapsed rock. Understandably, every attack was causing Misty to get antsier and antsier.

"C'mon Skitty! I know you can do it!" May cheered, praying to whatever gods controlled the randomness of moves like Assist to help her out. Skitty cast the attack again, getting Petal Dance next. The redhead really hoped that Skitty could pull it off, trying to not think about the many horrible ways that it could go wrong. Finding an inferno or giant wave of water flooding the tunnel was the last thing she wanted.

A few more minutes passed, and Skitty had cast her attack already four more times, luckily getting nothing devastatingly destructive, but Misty was starting to really worry. However, suddenly, a brilliant light surged through the darkness, casting a warm amber light against the cold tunnel walls, flickering with the dancing shadows.

"You're the best Skitty!" May exclaimed, both ecstatic and relieved that her plan had worked, letting out a tense breath she had been holding, "Thank Arceus...Okay! So hold that for as long as you can alright Skitty?" The kitten pokemon nodded eagerly, spinning the ball of fire with her tail playfully, not quite aware of the true danger her trainer was in.

Misty and May finally got a good look around, the orange light revealing their path ahead, a small opening in the tunnel which had been partially caved in. They looked back at the way they came, frowning at the amalgamation of crushed metal glinting in the light, buried by rock, completely unassailable.

"Well...Onward I suppose," Misty said with a grimace, squinting at the small hole. Admittedly, she wasn't too enthusiastic about squeezing through such a small entry way...but at least there were no bugs...

* * *

Brock came to with a painful groan, rubbing his head, his vision spinning and hazy, wondering who ran him over with that train. Coughing the dust out of his lungs, he struggled to his feet, his wavering sight noticing the flickering shadows dancing across the cobbled ceiling.

"Oh my god! Brock! Are you alright?" Dawn exclaimed, shaking the older trainer to awareness. Groggily, he tried to shake off the veil of confusion clouding his thoughts, wondering what had just happened, unable to remember the last few moments before blacking out.

"You hit your head there pretty hard," Max added, steadying his friend, "Banged your head right into that metal beam right there." Brock looked up and frowned when he saw the large, steel metal beam sticking out of the wall, "It's a good thing that you're so stubbornly robust. We tested you for a concussion, but you seem to be generally fine...other than that huge bump on your head."

Brock chuckled, shaking his head again to further clear the cobwebs in his mind, noting ruefully that his high tolerance for pain came mainly at the cost of his flirtations lifestyle. At least he could say one good thing came out of getting whacked around by Misty's mallet now. Looking back, he noticed that blocked entrance and frowned at the implications.

"We're cut off from the others," Max said gravely, "We're pretty lucky Dawn still had Quilava on her though."

"We need to move then. These tunnels might lead us to the others," Brock finished, nodding as he straightened himself, "We have two things to do now. Find the others and find Ralts. Let's get a move on."

* * *

"Ash? Do you remember anything else about this place?" Latias asked as they passed by another nameless door for the third time, "I mean...other than...well you know..." She really hoped that they weren't going to get hopelessly lost. The tunnels just seemed to go on and on and on though.

"Yeah..." Ash said uncomfortably, racking his recently returned memories, grimacing every few seconds, "There was this...room that scanned pokemon and cloned them...and there was this giant arena...which is where I..." He quieted after that, and Latias didn't need to ask why. She simply grabbed his hand tightly, wanting her trainer to know she was there for him. Taking a shuddering breath, he continued, "I think...I think if we keep going all of the tunnels will eventually meet up at the arena..."

"We should head down that way then," Latias said, knowing she had to be strong for Ash. He was scared, which was a very strange thing for the usually brash and brave trainer. However, it wasn't every day that you visited your own grave site...

"You're right," he replied, steeling his resolve, knowing that his friends could be in danger. It was his responsibility to make sure everyone got out safely. He wouldn't rest until he knew they were all okay.

They continued walking in a companionable silence. Latias felt a bit guilty for it, but she couldn't help but enjoy her time with her trainer. As of late, they had been rather close, and it really made her happy.

"Thanks by the way, Latias..." Ash murmured suddenly, gripping her hand tighter as if wanting to make sure she was really there in the darkness.

"For what?" Latias asked, confused, but warmed by the sentiment nonetheless.

"I mean...you just always seem to be saving me nowadays. Sometimes I wonder how you always do it...why you always do it..." he muttered sadly, idly kicking a pebble out of the way.

"What do you mean?" she asked, very confused by Ash's sudden sadness, coming to a stop as Ash collected his thoughts.

"I mean...You saved me earlier from falling off that staircase after I was being dumb," he answered somberly, "And...well I don't know how to explain it really...it's just...Thank you for being there for me...through this and everything else. It means a lot to me." Ash struggled with his words, having an immensely difficult time putting his feelings into an appropriate sentence that would convey just how happy he was to have Latias by his side. "I just don't...I don't know what I'd do without you really." He couldn't help but feel confused as he thought about Latias, a pokemon and, in his eyes, a girl as well. As a pokemon, she was amazing, strong, powerful, calm and reliable, but as a girl, she was...just Latias, beautiful, kind, funny, happy...

The red eon dragon blushed in the darkness, feeling her heart flutter happily at Ash's admission. Tenderly, she hugged her trainer close, feeling his heart beat strongly in his chest and his scent envelop her, making her feel safe.

"I'll always be there Ash," she promised, placing her forehead against Ash's, their breathing intermingling. He could feel his face heat up at the rather intimate gesture, and his heart hammered powerfully against his ribs. His mind went back to the few kisses she had given him, those memories making his breath come in short spasms. He didn't know why he felt so nervous!

"But...but...I just feel like...I owe you or something," he tried to reason, his speech a bit jumbled due to Latias' close proximity, her eyes glowing in the darkness as they stared into his own. Latis opened her mouth, wanting to say he didn't owe her anything, but she giggled at a sudden idea that popped into her mind.

"I don't really feel like you owe me anything Ash," Latias said, bringing up her finger to silence the protests from her trainer, "But! If you really want to do something for me..." She blushed harder at her thoughts, hoping it wasn't too forward. "Take...me out..on a date..."

"B...huh?" Ash asked, completely thrown by the sudden request. Not quite sure he had heard it right. Why would Latias...

"Take me out on a date," Latias repeated a bit stronger this time, her entire face red, hidden by the darkness, "When we get out of here...When we get to the mainland..." Ash was flabbergasted, trying to warp his mind around the idea and blushed hard. He couldn't back out now though.

"Okay..." he replied shakily, trying his best to remain calm, "When...when we get back to the mainland, I'll take you out for a date, Latias." Even through he couldn't see it fully, Ash could tell Latias was beaming happily, and now that he had a little more time to think about, he couldn't help but feel slightly excited about it as well. He was pretty sure his face was completely red though.

"Then let's go!" Latias said with a giggle. The sooner they got out, the better after all.

* * *

"So...any idea how we get up there?" Pikachu said with a frown as he estimated Ralts was at least fifty feet up. Neither of them could fly, obviously, and neither of them could jump that high either. However, everything relied on getting Ralts to teleport them out so Kirlia could be saved.

"I can do it," Riolu said with a steel resolve as he looked at the walls, mentally noting where he could use the rocky outcroppings as ledges to climb up. Once he was high enough, he would have to kick off from the walls to get to the nearest light. From there, he would have to make his way to Ralts.

"Riolu...it's too dangerous," Pikachu said seriously, following the emanation pokemon's gaze with a frown, "One wrong step could kill you. One wrong move could bring the entire roof down too!"

"What choice do we have!?" Riolu shouted, as he pointed at Kirlia who was barely breathing as is, "I promised to protect Kirlia! I promised her! I promised her parents! I promised myself! And I'm not going to just stand here and do nothing." Pikachu sighed, knowing he couldn't do anything to stop him now.

"Fine. Go. I'll look over Kirlia and keep the lights on. I pray to Arceus that you make it..." he conceded, hoping the ledges of the cave walls were sturdy enough. One wrong move could create a chain reaction and doom them all, but he had to let Riolu try.

Nodding, Riolu rushed off to the wall, hopping onto the first ledge, approving how it held under his weight. With another hop he jumped up to the next one, slowing making his way up the walls. This went on for a few more moments, each jump more tense than the next. Pikachu watched on in worry as Riolu was nearing the top.

Calmly, Riolu calculated his next jump, looking at a small, jagged rock that jutted out near the top, and with a precise jump landed on. Suddenly, a loud crack reverberated through the arena, and Riolu gasped as he felt the rock give way.

"Riolu!" Pikachu shouted, covering his head with his tail as a few pebbles rained down on them. Mid-free-fall, Riolu twisted in the air, his eyes focusing on the stadium light just a few meters away. Calming himself, he called upon his aura powers and propelled himself forward with what control he did have. The electric mouse pokemon watched on in amazement as his friend barely managed to grab onto the edge of one of the lights and pull himself up. "Riolu! Are you alright?!"

"Yeah..." Riolu called down after catching his breath, suddenly tired from the use of his budding aura powers. They were still really hard to continually use, despite his precision with them. His body wasn't yet ready to handle it apparently. "Almost there..." he muttered to himself as he saw Ralts who was sleeping on one of the lights without a care in the world.

Collecting himself, he rebalanced his stance and made a running leap for the next light, landing on it with a loud, metallic thud which shook the entire structure back and forth in the air, the metal groaning uncertainly underneath him.

"Be careful Riolu!" Pikachu called out from down below, "We don't know how stable these stadium lights are! If you move them too much, they may collapse!" Riolu nodded down to his fellow pokemon in understanding, scanning the next light for any signs of structural damage. He frowned, noticing that his next jump to the most stable-looking light was blocked by a pillar of stalactites. He had a choice here. Either force his way through to the better looking one, or jump onto the other light which seemed to be slightly bent. Both were risky. However, he had to try for one.

"Pikachu! Take some cover! Make sure Kirlia is okay! I'm going to do something a bit risky!" he shouted down to his friends, hoping that the distance would be enough to save them from any debris. Planting his feet firmly on the metal lights, he gathered a sphere of energy in his hands, pooling his aura and finally releasing it at the stalactites. A powerful explosion blasted the stalactites apart, sending dust and rock to the ground. However, the shock wave creeped across the cave, causing a few more stalactites to fall down as well.

"Hey! I said be careful! Don't just go around blasting the ceiling apart!" Pikachu yelled, staring at one of the stalactites which had fallen about ten feet away from them. Looking up, he grimaced at their abysmal luck, finding a huge pillar of the deadly spikes above them. He really didn't feel like becoming a pokemon shish kabob...

Riolu didn't answer and simply concentrated, jumping to the next light, landing on it roughly, squashing some of the lights and causing some sparks to be hiss out from the rickety structure. A few lights were dislodged and fell to the floor in a tinkle of deadly glass. About this time, Pikachu really wished he knew how to make barriers.

Undeterred, Riolu jumped again, landing on another light successfully, only a few more jumps away now. Soon enough he found himself two lights away from the sleeping pokemon, but he frowned, noticing that the light ahead was heavily damaged at the base. If it fell, it could hit Ralts' light too, which would be disastrous.

His only choice was to somehow figure out how to jump across an entire light to where Ralts was sleeping, but how? Looking around, he came up with a crazy idea. There were two sets of stalactites across from eachother between him and Ralt's light. He was going to try to bounce off one stalactite to the other and hopefully land on the light.

However, Riolu didn't know if it would work. The rock spikes could break. He might accidentally miss. Ralts could fall off of the light because of his landing...

Looking back at Kirlia laying on the floor, helpless, solidified his decision, however. Moving as far back as he could, he ran at the edge of the light and jumped.

* * *

"So...Misty? I was wondering," May said randomly as they walked along, "When were you going to talk to Ash about how you feel?"

"WHAT!?" Misty screeched, actually tripping and landing flat on her face. However, she quickly jumped back to her feet, her face flushed in mock anger and embarrassment, "Where did you get that silly idea from May?"

"Huh? Was I wrong? I mean...you seemed so mopey for the last few days. Especially when Ash came back with Latias or when Melody was flirting with him. I just thought that you needed someone to talk to about it..." May said, her voice a bit small and unsure, hoping she hadn't overstepped her boundaries. Misty sighed and face-palmed slightly in exasperation. Of course, May would notice.

"I appreciate it May. I really do, but this is just something I need to sort out on my own," the redhead replied tiredly, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice, "Besides...I think I'm too late anyway..."

"Huh? What do you mean? Ash has a girlfriend!?" the Hoenn coordinator questioned, confused and extremely skeptical, "This is Ash we're talking about right? The guy that would rather look at Pokemon battling it out than a woman sunbathing in a bikini..."

"Yes...and I know, May. Trust me. I really do know," Misty said with an irritated scowl, remember the few times where she had dressed up, and Ash had barely looked her way beyond saying she looked "nice". He didn't seem to have a clue about all the girls that seemed to just throw themselves at him, and it annoyed her greatly. "He has a completely one-track mind...unfortunately..."

"So? You just derail it then. Tell it straight to his face. That should get his attention. Ash isn't one to really beat around the bush after all, so maybe you should try the direct approach," May suggested with a giggle, "We both know Ash doesn't really do subtle...and he can be as dense as a rock."

"Even if I try...Like I said...it's just too late..." Misty said, balling her fists, "I waited too long and kept thinking Ash would always just be there, and that I could wait...But...I just can't compete with her."

"Who?" May asked, quirking her head sideways, wondering who this mystery girl was, and Misty looked at her with a surprised glance.

"Wait...You haven't seen it? How he looks at her so fondly? How he always seemed to break out into a smile whenever she enters the room? Everything he does revolves around her..." the redhead questioned incredulously, wondering how May had seen her affections but not Latias'.

"Wait. Who? When? How did I miss this! Who's this mystery girl we keep talking about!?" May asked, waving her hands emphatically, really wanting to know. Misty stared and then face-palmed, wondering who the truly dense one was here.

"Who else could it possibly be? Latias of course!" Misty exclaimed, earning an "oh" expression from May, who blinked rapidly, chuckling sheepishly.

"But...Misty. Latias is a pokemon...Ash can't..." she reasoned but was cut off.

"Ash isn't just a human anymore though is he? She is perfect for him..." Misty asked quietly, frowning, "And now that she has a voice...she just seems more...human. That's why...Maybe it was just never meant to be..."

"I still think that you should tell him. You deserve a chance, if at least to let him know how you feel," May replied, still a bit skeptical about Latias, "At least think about it."

Misty didn't say anything else, but her mind was whirling away in indecision. Did she really want to expose her feelings to Ash? What were her chances anyway? Plus, she didn't want to lose him because of this; that would be the worst outcome of all.

"Maybe...maybe one day," she murmured, more for herself than anyone else.

"Wait! Misty! Look! There's light up ahead!" May exclaimed suddenly, running off towards the archway, hoping it was the exit. Misty quickly ran after her companion and gasped when they entered a giant arena that was lit up by lights. Scanning the area, she smiled in relief as she spotted everyone else in different doorways, and Pikachu powering the lights in the corner, Kirlia laying on the floor next to him.

"Riolu!" a sudden voice called out, a voice that could only belong to one person.

* * *

The emanation pokemon jumped, his eyes focusing on his target. He smirked for a moment as he felt his feet meet the solid pillar of rock, and a moment later, he rocketed himself towards the second pillar. He was going to make it!

Twisting in mid-air, he slammed into the stalactite, but felt horror creep into his being as he smashed through the rock, sending him into free fall. He tried to grab any remaining vestiges of solid rock, but there was nothing for him to hold on to. He closed his eyes and tried to hold back his tears as he thought about Kirlia.

"Riolu!" a very familiar voice yelled out, and all of a sudden, the emanation pokemon found himself safe in a strong grip, "What were you thinking! You could have gotten yourself killed! Are you crazy!?"

"Ash?" Riolu asked, amazed as he stared at the familiar form of Ash's Black Latios form, "Ash! Quick! We need to get out of here! Kirlia has been poisoned and injured. If we don't treat her soon, she could die!"

Ash's eyes widened in horror as he zeroed in on the fallen form of his pokemon, a pang of guilt and self-loathing striking his heart. However, he quickly shook it off.

"How do we get out of here though?" Ash asked, wondering what his pokemon was doing climbing so high.

"Ralts! He can teleport us out," Riolu explained, waving his arms rapidly. The urgency in his voice was nearly palpable as he pointed to the sleeping form of said pokemon. Eyes widening in understanding, Ash flew over to Ralts, allowing Riolu to jump onto the stadium light carefully.

"Ralts," Riolu said softly, shaking the young psychic-type awake, hoping he wouldn't be startled.

"Huh..." the feeling pokemon said groggily, yawning and rubbing his eyes underneath his hood, "Did the game end? Did I win?" Riolu couldn't help but chuckle at how innocent the question was, but would not be distracted from his goal.

"Ralts. We're all trapped underground," Riolu explained, gesturing to everyone who had gathered down below. May and Max had hugged each other tightly, glad the other was okay, and likewise, a round of hugs and relieved smiles passed through the group. "Kirlia is sick. We need you to teleport us out of here so we can treat her."

"Okay!" Ralts said enthusiastically, teleporting himself and Riolu down to the floor.

"Ralts! I was so worried!" Max exclaimed as he hugged his pokemon tightly, "Next time don't go out on your own mister! We were looking for you all over the place." Ralts frowned but nodded in understanding, hoping he hadn't caused too much trouble. "Okay Ralts! Let's get everyone out of here! Teleport everyone right back outside of these caves. Do you think you can do that?"

Ralts looked around and gulped. There were a lot of people here, but he was going to try his best. Concentrating his powerful psychic powers, he slowly enveloped everyone in a circle of glowing energy, and with a flash of light, they disappeared.

* * *

Suddenly, sunlight flooded everyone's eyes, and they all yelped as they were suddenly falling through the air, having been teleported a few feet above the ground. Everyone landed on the floor in an unceremonious thud, except for Kirlia who had been hastily caught by Riolu.

"Hurry Ash!" Riolu begged as he placed his friend in his trainers arms. Ash gasped in fear as he looked at the wound and swollen area, noticing the slight tinge of green sticking to the wound. What was worse was the fact that she had clearly lost a lot of blood, and her condition was rapidly worsening.

"Brock! I need antidote now!" Ash yelled as he transformed back into his human form, running over to Brock who had quickly whipped out his pack to look for the required medication. However, there was a problem. His pack had been torn somehow underneath the mountain, and a large amount of supplies were missing, including the essential antidote. Trying not to panic, he looked through his berries pouch and frowned as he only had one anti-poison berry, not nearly strong enough to completely alleviate the poison damage coursing through Kirlia's system at the moment.

"This...this is all I have Ash," Brock said solemnly as he showcased the one small berry, "I'll mix it as best I can...but...I don't know if..."

"No!" Ash shouted, tears streaming down his face as the terror of the entire situation sunk in, "If she...if she...It will be my fault! I can't...I won't let that happen!" Brock grimaced and quickly set to work, taking Kirlia from Ash, quickly disinfecting the wound with standard antiseptic. However, the trickle of blood was still constantly flowing, and Brock had to quickly bind the wound shut before she died of blood loss.

Brock worked quickly, mixing a natural remedy as fast as he could with the ingredients he did have left. Slowly, he tipped the concoction into Kirlia's mouth, and waited. Fifthteen minutes later, Brock hung his head grimly.

"She's not getting better," he said hoarsely, noting the paleness of Kirlia's cheeks. Her entire body was shutting down now due to the poison running its course and the lack of blood loss. "I'm...I'm sorry Ash..." She was going to go in a few minutes. Ash couldn't believe it and dropped down to his knees, placing his head in his hands as he cried for his failure. Latias quickly placed her arms around him, her own tears splashing down to the ground with him.

Riolu felt numb. Kirlia was dying, well and truly dying. He best friend was going to leave him...

"No...no!" Riolu roared as he jumped to Kirlia's side, bringing her close to his chest and crying his eyes out, "I won't. I won't let you go! I won't accept this! Never! You're my best friend! You're not going to die! I won't let you!"

"Riolu..." Pikachu said tearfully, trying to calm the emanation pokemon, but was stopped by a brilliant light enveloping Riolu. "What..."

"He's evolving..." Dawn whispered, shielding her eyes at the intense light from Riolu, and moments later, a proud Lucario appeared cradling Kirlia protectively as some strange waves of power issued forth from Lucario. Taking out his Pokedex, Brock quickly scanned the newly-evolved aura pokemon.

"Lucario. The Aura Pokemon. This steel and fighting type pokemon is renowned for it's aura sensing abilities, giving it the power to track anyone in its field. By reading Aura, it is said that Lucario is able to sense feelings, thoughts and even predict movements. A Riolu commonly evolves into a Lucario by feelings of intense friendship. Currently, this Lucario is using Heal Pulse," the mechanical voice of Brock's pokedex announced.

"Please Kirlia...Please," Lucario begged as he shut his eyes tightly, praying that his friend would be okay, "I don't want to lose you. Not now...not ever..." Everyone watched, amazed as color returned to Kirlia's cheeks, and she squinted her eyes open slowly.

"Ri..olu...?" Kirlia coughed out weekly, staring back into the familiar ruby-red orbs of her best friend, "What...what's wrong...?"

Lucario opened his eyes and stared back, his eyes brimming with happiness as he hugged his best friend closer, nearly sobbing now.

"You're okay! I thought...I thought..." Lucario choked out, unable to finish the thought, and Kirlia smiled weakly.

"I'm here...I promise..." she said softly before drifting back off into unconsciousness.

"Quickly Lucario!" Brock said, gesturing for the aura pokemon to hand over Kirlia, hope in his face, "We might have a chance now! Hurry!" Without wasting another moment, Lucario handed over his precious cargo, trusting his best friend's life to Brock.

Checking her forehead, Brock nodded in satisfaction, the temperature having drastically dropped suddenly. Her face looked immensely healthier, and her breathing was less erratic. Going to his pack, he quickly applied another potion to the cut to make sure it healed properly, and then created another natural remedy to, hopefully, encourage Kirlia's body to heal naturally.

"It seems like the worst of it is over..." Brock said with a relieved sigh, "I think your Heal Pulse amplified the small amount of antidote in her system, allowing it to purge to poison from her body. She also suddenly recovered a lot of blood, which is good."

"Is she going to be okay Brock?" Ash asked desperately, taking his place by Brock.

"Yes. Thank Arceus for it too..." he said with a stressed grunt. Ash nodded and bowed his head in shame. He turned to Lucario and couldn't look him in the eye.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry," he said, tears streaming down his face as he thought about what could have just happened. Kirlia could have been any one of his friends, and the reality of it all came crashing down on him, "I'm sorry...I'm so..."

"Enough," Lucario said, his voice cracking slightly as he tried to compose himself. He walked up to his trainer and stared at him, an unknown emotion flickering across his eyes. Slowly, he rose his paw, and Ash shut his eyes tightly, awaiting the blow that he rightfully deserved, but...it never came.

Instead, he found Lucario's arms wrapping around him in a shaky hug.

"Why?" Ash choked out.

"You are my trainer and friend. You are Kirlia's trainer and friend. You would never hurt her on purpose. You never meant to hurt anyone. You were just thinking about Ralts' safety. I will not blame you, and I will forgive you," he said truthfully, and Ash sobbed into his pokemon's shoulder, grateful.

"Thank you..." he said with a sniffle, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. Latias smiled in understanding, hugging her trainer as he was released, and Ash took comfort in her familiar embrace. After a few moments, he composed himself and stood up to face all of his friends.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry everyone for being an idiot and not thinking. I put you all in danger," he said, bowing to all of his friends, squeezing his eyes shut. The others wiped their own tears and smiled.

"We forgive you," Brock said for the entire group, "We know you Ash. You're impulsive, reckless and sometimes brash. But you would never do anything to hurt your friends."

"Thank you, everyone. I promise to not do something so stupid like this again," Ash said with a teary smile, running forward to hug everyone, eventually bringing everyone into a group hug. They were safe, and everything was going to be okay.

* * *

_In Pallet Town_

Ash and his friends had arrived late at night, their entire group struggling through the front door of the Ketchum home, but Delia had ushered them in with a smile. Ash had immediately run off to drop Kirlia at Professor Oak's place, just to make sure his pokemon was okay. Lucario had followed closely, opting to spend the night in the lab watching over his best friend. Eventually, they all fell into a deep slumber, the stressful events of the day finally catching up with them.

Ash awoke the next morning before the sun even rose, his eyes haunted by nightmares of what could have happened, his entire form shaking.

"Ash," Latias said softly, having awoken to Ash's frantic tossing and turning, "It's okay. We're safe." He hugged her tightly, whimpering as Latias rubbed soothing circles on his back, chanting words of safety into his ear. Slowly but surely, he fell asleep once more, his arms wrapped tightly around Latias and his face buried into her hair.

That was how Delia had found them in the morning, her son's arms wrapped tightly around the girl-form of Latias. She really wanted to wake them up to embarrass them a little bit, but she stopped as she noticed the dried tear streaks on her son's face. Wisely, she quietly closed the door, smiling to herself. Her little boy was finally growing up.

* * *

And they are finally out of the cave! Next chapter will be rather important for many reasons. Ash will discuss what they found out in the cave and then actually take Latias out on an official date! More of Riolu x Kirlia will be coming around, though that relationship will be...evolving soon.

**A/N**

Ahh, I've finally returned, after a year almost too! Shesh. Sorry everyone for the hiatus! College life is really difficult. I've gotten more used to it luckily, but only just. There is just so little time to do what you want! This summer is a bit busy for me too as I have nine hours of summer classes. Hopefully, I won't be bogged down too much though.

I appreciate everyone who has stuck with me this far and again do apologize for the long hiatus! And you guys are crazy! 1k+ reviews and favs! I love you all!

Thank you for reading and please review!

-Mekon


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